Australian couple find venomous snake wriggling around inside back of lettuce from Aldi
Australian couple find venomous snake wriggling around inside back of lettuce from Aldi
A couple were left shocked after they found a venomous snake wriggling around a bag of lettuce from Aldi.
A couple were left shocked after they found a venomous snake wriggling around a bag of lettuce from Aldi.
Alexander White, 44, from Sydney, had purchased a twin-pack of baby cos lettuce while shopping in his local Aldi store with partner Amelie, 35.
When they got home on April 13, they made an unsettling discovery.
“I started to unpack the groceries and took the lettuce out of my backpack and on the table,” White said.
“I then noticed what I thought was a very large worm moving around in the bag – it seemed to be coming out of the lettuce.
“The creature then stuck its long tongue out and I realised it was a small snake.
“I then freaked out and called my partner to come and have a look – she of course didn’t believe me when I called out ‘snake in the lettuce’.
“We realised that the bag was already open – quite a disturbing thought given that I had carried the lettuce around in my arms while in the store.
“We then transferred the snake and lettuce into a large Tupperware container with a lid to ensure the snake did not escape into the house.
“Luckily my children were not home at the time as I may have asked them to unpack the shopping and I would hate to think what may have happened.” The stunned couple called wildlife rescue organisation Wires and described the snake.
Based on White’s description, Wires advised them it was likely to be a baby eastern brown snake – a highly venomous reptile.
White sent pictures of his find to a snake expert from the organisation who then revealed it was actually pale headed snake – another venomous species.
“He described it as being medically significant, meaning that if it were to bite someone they would need to get to a hospital very quickly,” White said.
“Because of the dangerous variety of snake he organised a snake catcher volunteer to come very quickly to pick up the snake that same evening.
“When she arrived she gently tipped the snake into the bag from the lettuce and the snake wriggled out into the bag.” The snake was taken safely to the volunteer’s home and has been doing well since its big adventure.
Before it was taken away, Amelie, who is originally from Austria, took a video of the snake to send to family members – something the couple found ironic as she usually tries to dispel the idea that Australia is full of dangerous animals.
White also sent pictures of the snake to Aldi’s customer service team and wrote: “The package does not mention baby snakes, just baby cos lettuce.
So I think it might be an issue with the product.
“I’m too nervous to make a salad now, which we were planning to have for dinner.” A spokesperson for Aldi said: "We’ve worked with the customer and the team at Wires to identify the snake’s natural habitat, which is certainly not an Aldi store.
"We thank Wires for their support on this.
We are working closely with our produce supplier to investigate how this incident could have possibly occurred."
