A 63-year-old buyer named Neville Linton was shocked to find a baby ladder snake in his bag of broccoli from the West Midlands store Aldi in Stourbridge.
Linton, who is scared of snakes, found the harmless animal on his kitchen table when he was taking the broccoli out of the package. The snake was quickly caught by his family, and it was later recognised at Dudley Zoo.
Ladder snakes are from southwestern Europe, and when they get angry, they are said to give off a bad smell. Their bites can be painful, but they are not poisonous.
Linton was worried about his crippled son and his mother-in-law, who live with him. “It was pretty scary,” he said. “If I had left the broccoli out, it could have spread throughout the house, posing a significant danger.”
Aldi has started an investigation because their supplier has strong safety steps in place. But Linton thinks the money offered is not enough when he thinks about the risk to his family.
“We would have been in a precarious situation if it had escaped,” said he. “I also have a fear of snakes, which adds to the emotional impact.”
An Aldi representative said they were sorry for not upholding their normal high standards and promised that the problem is being looked into.
Ladder snakes live in Spain, Portugal, parts of Italy, and the southern part of France. Even though they aren’t normally mean, they can give off a bad smell when they feel threatened.
Linton and his family are very upset about this strange finding, which shows how important it is to have strict quality control in food supply chains.
