When this Sydney mum found something surprising in her tin of baby formula, she probably didn’t see this coming.
Meet Lizzy. More commonly know as Formula Lizard.
On Friday, Lizzy surprised a mum by hiding in a tin of S-26 Original Progress formula which was packaged in Singapore.
Artilina Castanares, 30, from The Ponds, outer north-western Sydney suburb, opened a new tin of the baby formula only to discover the dead lizard.
“I opened it and there was a funny smell. Its tail was sticking up and, thinking it was a thread, I lifted it up and it was a gecko. I squealed and dropped it. I was in shock from then on," Artilina told media.
After taking a photo and complaining to the company and Coles, where she bought the formula from, the story has spread across Australia warning parents of the contaminated batch of formula.
On the Coles Facebook page, Coles made a statement on Lizzy:
We were concerned to see the post yesterday about an issue one of our customers had with S26 Original Progress Formula.
We know this will also be a real concern to you which is why we have immediately withdrawn the product from sale while the supplier urgently investigates how this may have happened. As always safety is our number one concern.
The specific batch affected has been removed from sale (all products with code 40727482). There are other products within the S26 formula range which are still available. S26 Gold formula was not impacted.
While Coles has removed the specific batch from their shelves, a spokeswoman for Careline, the product's contact hotline, told Artilina to return the tin of baby formula to the company's head office, Aspen Australia, who will investigate the matter. However, stated that it could take up to 8 weeks before she heard anything.
Artilina said, "I was in shock. You don’t take any risk when it comes to our children. In the meantime, you would be recalling the product or at least that batch." She also e-mailed Aspen Australia but has not received a response.
