Canadian family tested for HIV after catheter found in ice cream tub; Australian kids pricked at supermarket

There’s some weird things in food.

A family gathering in Quebec to celebrate the arrival of a new baby boy suddenly turned sour this weekend when someone discovered a piece of a catheter inside the ice cream the family was eating.

Three people had already started eating the Coaticook brand ice cream flavoured with pecan nuts, chocolate and double caramel when one of the guests – the new grandfather of the family – felt something hard in his mouth.

He spit it out and saw it was a piece of a catheter.

There was something dark on the tip and the family couldn’t tell if it was caramel or blood.

“He put it in his mouth and found the tip of syringe,” Carole-Anne Christofferson told Radio-Canada.  

“He’s the worst off, the most affected. He’s not even able to speak about it.”

Coaticook said it will be conducting an internal investigation into what happened.

Representatives for the ice cream producer say it’s the first time the company receives a complaint like this.

Based on the product’s lot number, they know the exact date the ice cream was made and are checking surveillance video.

The company maintains it is safe to consume its products.

“We have so many internal controls here and in food production in general, that having something like that show up in a food item, it’s not normal,” said Jean Provencher, the owner of Coaticook.

Yeah, but it apparently did: try empathy.

In Australia, two children have been pricked by a hidden syringe in separate incidents at Coles supermarket in Melbourne’s north-west, which is being described by police as “malicious.”

The first incident happened at the supermarket on Pascoe Vale Road, Broadmeadows, on Monday at 1:30pm, when a child was pricked by a needle hidden under a rail.

Another child was pricked about an hour later, and the needle was then discovered by the mother.

A spokesperson for Coles said the supermarket was working with police to investigate the incident.

“Our thoughts are with the customers affected by this event and their families,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

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About Douglas Powell

A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here. Dr. Douglas Powell editor, barfblog.com retired professor, food safety 3/289 Annerley Rd Annerley, Queensland 4103 dpowell29@gmail.com 61478222221 I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time