A Vita Coco customer vowed to never buy the drink again after finding mold in one of her purchased cartoons. Vita Coco released a response and explanation as to how it happened.
TikTok user @joan.er5 got more than she bargained for when she purchased a multipack of Vita Coco coconut water recently. The carton’s expiry date was marked as April 3rd 2024, but was already filled with mould when she opened it this past week.
Now, Joan has sworn off the brand for life after saying that there’s “no coming back” from it for her.
The Vita Coco carton was heavier than usual
Joan has gone viral with a series of TikTok videos documenting her shock at the mold discovery in real-time, as she recorded herself cutting open the carton.
The customer didn’t notice anything different until she picked the carton up to her mouth only for nothing to come out. It was then that she noticed how heavy the drink was.
She then weighed the carton, showing 12 ounces on the scales. The drink itself should usually be 11.1 ounces, according to the box itself.
“You guys, I’m afraid to flip it over. There’s something in it. It almost looks like mold, I’m going to show you,” noted Joan in a video. She showed the inside of the carton opening to the camera, documenting a gray material with a lumpy texture inside. Joan said she was scared something dead was inside.
“It’s solid. Seriously solid. Vita Coco, I don’t even want to buy from you again.” she added.
The big mold reveal in the coconut water
In a later video, with over one million views, Joan cut open the carton to reveal the extent of the mold inside. “Ewww,” she said as she removed the lid section of the drink, adding that she was scared to get a proper look.
After cutting open the top of the carton, a thick, dark mass was visible at the top of the carton, spreading from one side to the other. “That is so disgusting. There is no coming back after that. I drink that and I am, at the very least, throwing up for the rest of my life,” claimed Joan.
“That is just so nasty,” she added.
A video shared by Joan showed that none of the other cartons in the pack had mold inside.
Vita Coco responded to the mold fiasco
In a comment on Joan’s video, Vita Coco offered a likely explanation as to why there could be mold present: damage during transit. “This appears to be mold that can occur when the [Tetra Pak] is damaged in transit to you,” wrote Vita Coco, adding that it would replace the product for Joan.
“Vita Coco is a natural product, so if the packaging is damaged and air gets into the package before you’re ready to drink it, mold can occur,” added the brand in a further comment.
In a statement to the Daily Dot, Vita Coco added more information: “Every one of our products is subject to rigorous quality control testing before it leaves our facilities to ensure that it is fresh when a consumer opens it. In rare cases, shipping and handling can lead to damage. As Vita Coco is a natural product with no preservatives, this damage can impact the integrity of the beverage. In this case, it is likely this consumer purchased a damaged package, which led to oxidation that ultimately resulted in mold. As this consumer mentioned in one of her videos, the cap and seal seemed to be broken before she opened it, and while this is regrettable, this is the likely cause. When we saw this video, we reached out to learn more. Since then, we have checked the batch number and we believe this is in fact an isolated occurrence. Vita Coco upholds the highest standards regarding the production of our natural coconut water beverages and takes any quality-related incidents extremely seriously.”
Joan however clarified in a later video that she broke the seal herself when she opened it.
The post Woman finds coconut water cartoon full of thick mould and is immediately put off for life appeared first on HITC.
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