Liya Ma, a special education teacher in Pasadena, California, thought she was treating herself to two things when she was shopping for a bag of organic salad mix at her local Costco: Health and savings. But what she got was … a frog. When Liya picked up a plastic container of Babe Farms spring mix, she saw "two little eyes looking at her." She screamed and dropped it. But what came next is fascinating …
Instead of threatening to sue Costco or Babe Farms or anybody she could get her hands on, like most people would, Liya asked the store if she could keep the frog as a pet.
The store manager obliged her request and threw in the box of salad for free to boot. The frog is currently safe and sound at home with Liya, and he's been given the name Dave. I gotta hand it to Liya, man — kudos for making frogs outta salad mix. I gotta be honest, not only do I find this super icky, I find it's making me question my organic produce buying.
Now, I'm not going to stop buying organic — that's just crazy talk. The nine dollars I spend on a tiny container of blueberries each week is totally worth it, but I really need to inspect it more and wash it … harder.
On two different occasions I've opened a box of lettuce to find a bug. Not quite as intense as an amphibian, but it was still gross. I remember a friend of mine, who was privy to my screaming and dropping the box, saying: "That's why you gotta stick with the stuff with the pesticides." No, I will not do that. Not with produce, at least. But I do like the luxury of knowing my vegetables won't come with any creatures.
Terrie Cardoza, spokeswoman for Babe Farms, said the frog presumably survived because the lettuce is not chopped before packaging and no pesticides were used. She said, "Those kind of things can occasionally happen."
I guess they can, Terrie, I guess they can. And you know what? I'll stay aboard the organic train. But I can guarantee I won't be as understanding as Liya if I ever find a frog in my greens.
What's the grossest thing you've ever found in your food?
Image via KRO-Media/Flickr
