Aldi shoppers' concern over 'gross' milk with brown sludge
The sludge disappears when the bottle is shaken but the milk reportedly tastes different and has shoppers worried.
Confused Aldi shoppers are desperately searching for answers after a number of customers reported finding a strange-looking brown sediment at the bottom of some cartons of dairy milk.
Posting photos of affected bottles on social media, puzzled shoppers have revealed their shock over finding the unappetising looking substance in their milk. It was claimed to have been found in bottles from various stores, with many revealing the product "even tastes different" and that when you "shake bottles, it disappears".
"Has anyone noticed the brown sediment in the 3L full cream milk?" a shopper said. "I checked a few cartons and they all seemed to have it. Once shaken it would disappear."
Shoppers share their own experiences with 'brown milk'
Quickly, people flooded the comments with similar experiences. After trawling through other social media platforms, Yahoo News Australia found that dozens of others also discovered the brown sediment in their milk bottles, all from varying retailers.
"What is this brown sediment at the bottom of my milk? My mum said it's fine but I refuse to drink it," a person said on Reddit. "Brown sediment or sludge at the bottom of this milk I just bought," another said.
"My guess here would be that someone did something wrong and got chocolate into either the product tank, the lines going to the filling line, or the filler itself," a person responded.
"Cows milk can have pus, dirt and infections from cow udders. It gets heat treated I think to kill bacteria. Still gross though!" said another.
Soaring milk prices: Why you're paying more at Coles, Woolworths and Aldi
Australia oat milk market is predicted to reach US$ 398.1 million by 2030
Aldi customer slams supermarket over 'utterly disgusting' find
"It’s either someone mucked up switching between bottling chocolate and plain milk, or it’s a bit of blood from broken capillaries in the udder, is my guess" a user hypothesised.
Yahoo News Australia sought clarity regarding the sediment's origins from Aldi, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Food Standards Australia New Zealand, the Australian Dairy Products Federation, Australian Dairy Farmers as well as a number of dairy manufacturers — all were unable to provide a definitive answer.
Aldi Australia has articulated to Yahoo a willingness to investigate the issue, though was unable to provide any certainty and encouraged shoppers to contact the retailer should they also find the brown milk.
What do you think?
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
