Aldi shopper's 'disgusting' find in avocado dip: 'Never again'
Shocked shoppers said they are turned off from buying the avocado dip again.
A woman admits she'll never buy Aldi's avocado dip again after making an alarming discovery in one she'd purchased. But it's a pretty common find and one Aussie shoppers need to be aware of, a health advocate told Yahoo News Australia
The Queensland woman purchased the Deli Originals product from the Bridge St store in Toowoomba on Saturday, and on Sunday she opened the popular dip and found an unusual bright green mass. "Has anyone else seen this before? "she posted on Facebook that night. "First and last time I’ll ever buy this I think. It’s an avo-nope from me".
Aldi shoppers react to 'disappointing' avocado dip
Dozens were quick to comment on the "disgusting" find with many suggesting it was green food colouring that hadn't been mixed through properly. Food colouring is often used to "enhance the visual appeal" of processed products, Belinda Smith, CEO of The Root Cause, told Yahoo.
"Hardly surprising, doesn't taste like avocado, just enough in there to be able to call it Avocado Dip. Bought once and never again, no avo flavour," one said. "Absolutely disgusting just makes you realise what they are really putting in our food," another wrote. "Yuck! What a false green colour! Sooooo disappointing," said a third.
One Aldi shopper said she buys it all the time and claims it "just needs a good stir". "There's nothing wrong with the taste," she said of the avocado dip. Some other Aldi shoppers said they've seen it before after purchasing the dip themselves and admitted they too"refused to buy it" again. "Made me feel sick just looking at it," one said.
Aldi declined to comment when asked by Yahoo about how such products are made and if the green substance found inside the dip was in fact food colouring. Customers who are not satisfied with a product are encouraged to return it to the store for a full refund, but the Queensland woman told Yahoo it wasn't worth the money she paid for it so she threw it in the bin instead.
Warning to Aussie consumers about 'ultra-processed foods'
Child health advocate Ms Smith said she's not familiar with the specific ingredients in the supermarket's avocado dip, but food colours, flavours and preservatives are commonly used in many ultra-processed foods.
"The colours are used to enhance the visual appeal, the flavours are usually to enhance taste and smell, and preservatives are used mostly so foods last longer," she explained to Yahoo. "Some are made artificially and others are natural, meaning they start from using an animal or plant source. Both are made in a chemistry lab and then used in food and drink manufacturing. The natural sources rarely resemble the original source."
She said there's some research linking "predominantly artificial colours, flavours and preservatives to a range of different health issues", including behavioural and learning conditions. "I would suggest [consumers] do their own research," she added.
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