Woolworths shopper horrified by 'disgusting' find in son's juice: 'We were shocked'

An Aussie mum has described how her five-year-old son was left with an upset stomach after she made a disturbing discovery inside a drink bought at Woolworths.

The mother, from Queensland, who only wanted to be identified as Erin, had left the young boy with her mum to take her daughter to an appointment when the child asked his grandmother for a drink.

“He put the straw in and took a few little drinks and then asked for it to be put in a cup,” the Queensland woman told Yahoo News Australia. “My mum cut the corner of the spout and poured it into the cup and black bits came out.” But that wasn’t the end of it.

“She poured the rest of the liquid out and saw there was more in the container that was too large to fit through the hole,” the mother explained. “When I arrived about an hour later, she told me what happened and said I needed to see it and see if I can tell what it is.”

Using her phone light to check inside the hole, Erin spotted big clumps so she cut open the juice box, which had been purchased in Caboolture.

“I noticed what looked like mould at the top of the carton and big pieces of black,” she said. “The video shows the texture but before I rubbed it together it was similar to a huge water logged sultana in feel.”

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‘It could have been a lot worse’

While Erin’s son only had a few mouthfuls, it was still enough for the little one to feel ill.

“My boy drank some of the juice before it was poured into the cup, thankfully only a sip or two,” the mother explained. “But he had an upset tummy afterwards.

“Thankfully only a slightly upset stomach the next day, but it could have been a lot worse.”

It could also have been worse for more children.

“This was the last juice in the pack,” Erin said. “The other juices in that pack were drunk on different days by my nieces and nephews. They had no ill effects but we don’t know if their juices were also contaminated. But seeing as they were drunk through a straw, who knows.”

A mum's dire warning

“Honestly, we were shocked and disgusted,” Erin said, adding that she doesn’t buy juice boxes for her children. “Instead, we get a big bottle of juice for the family and put it on our reusable cups, but mum likes to keep them on hand.

“She will not be buying any brand of Primas again in fear of it happening again.”

Meanwhile, other mothers online have been speculating about what the black substance could have been after Erin shared the grim photos.

“A lady commented on the post and mentioned that her father works in manufacturing and it is most likely sediment from the bottom of the tank,” she explained. “Another said she processes refunds for a store and usually what happens is night fill will accidentally slice the carton with the knife on opening and it in turn mould grows.

“Either way it’s absolutely disgusting and parents should know to cut them open prior and pour it out just in case. I certainly wouldn’t trust them again.

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Woolworths offers $10 voucher

After reaching out to Woolworths to make a complaint, as well as contacting Food Safety Queensland and the juice's manufacturer Bega Foodservice, Erin said she received a $10 voucher from the supermarket giant.

Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, a spokesperson for Woolworths said the incident appears to be isolated.

“We take food safety seriously, and are disappointed to see this customer's report,” they said, adding that they had passed the complaint onto the supplier “to look into further”.

“If customers ever have concerns with food quality or safety, we encourage them to return the product in its packaging to their local store for a full refund, and to lodge a formal report.”

A spokesperson for the Bega Group told Yahoo News Australia: “As soon as we were made aware of this, we commenced working with our broader team to conduct a thorough investigation which is still underway. The safety of our consumers and quality of our product is, as always, the top priority.”

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