Maine Woman Finds 3-Inch Lizard in Her Lettuce
Lookin’ for protein in all the wrong places.
Image: Michelle Carr/Facebook
When Michelle Carr of Kittery, Maine, opened up a bag of romaine lettuce in January, she was surprised to find that she had received a bit more than she had paid for.
After dressing a salad of red onions, tomatoes, avocados and romaine that she had purchased at a local Shaw’s grocery store, she dug in with her fork and had a few bites before striking something that didn’t quite feel like an avocado. When she lifted her fork, she found that it was stuck in a three-inch-long dead lizard.
She was so shocked and disgusted that she immediately vomited.
Upon closer inspection, she saw that the lizard was missing its tail. Carr, who was at the time nursing a 10-week-old son, was afraid that she had accidentally eaten it and any nasty bacteria that might have been on it.
She notified Shaw’s of the mishap, and Shaw’s wrote in a letter that it was reaching out to its supplier in California to determine how the lizard made its way into Carr’s bag of lettuce. Unsatisfied with the response, Carr also contacted the state Health Department. Since the lettuce came from California, the Food and Drug Administration will handle the investigation, according to the Associated Press.
“It's not just something you read about in the papers,” she said to New Hampshire’s WMUR9. “[You] need to be really diligent about washing your produce no matter where you get it from.”
A wise lesson for all, especially in light of a recent romaine-related E. coli scare.
In the future, Carr will stick to the lettuce she grows at home or buys from a local farmer’s market. Hopefully this way she will avoid any further scaly surprises.
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