An American family has been making headlines online after returning from the store with a tub of their favorite ice cream only to find a shocking surprise inside.
According to Delish, after the family opened the container, they found a fully grown toad frozen within their delicious treat.
Unexpected Surprise in Ice Cream Container
We’ve come to expect some unusual flavors of ice cream in the modern era, such as ketchup and egg-flavoured ice cream. But typically, they never come with strange surprises, like small pieces of egg or tomatoes.
However, one family was left in a state of shock after prying open their container to find a frozen animal.
Mother and Daughter Can’t Believe Their Eyes
Tracey Wiemelt Holtman and her young daughter took a trip to their local Hy-Vee supermarket and purchased a container of their favorite ice cream.
Once they returned home, her young daughter opened the container to enjoy the delicious treat, only to discover a large frozen toad within.
Mother Shares Image on Facebook
Initially, Tracey was in shock with the discovery. After she calmed down, she took a picture of the frozen toad and shared it on Facebook along with a caption.
“So I literally just bought this blue bunny ice cream from Hyvee. Morgan opened it tonight and look at what was in it. This had to come from the factory this way bc it was sealed. Guess I will be taking it back to the store bc they won’t believe me if I just tell them,” wrote Tracy.
How Did the Frog End Up There?
In her post on Facebook, Tracy explained the toad was found sitting on top of the ice cream.
This would then suggest the unlucky frog hopped into the container right before it was sealed shut.
Chasing Its Own Dessert
The post received a fair amount of traction online, with many commenting on her post. Some social media users even began questioning why the frog was there in the first place.
According to one idea, just to the left of the frog are the remains of insect legs. This would then suggest the frog had been chasing a dessert of its own when it got trapped in the container.
Internet Can’t Help But Laugh
While Tracey’s discovery undoubtedly grossed out various Facebook users, others couldn’t help but make a joke.
One user on X, @Exysay_Eastbuy, wrote, “New flavor just hopped.” Another user, @TrueCrazyFrog, wrote, “Let me out.”
Wells Enterprises Issue Statement
In her original post, Tracy claimed the particular brand of ice cream was Blue Bunny, produced by Wells Enterprises.
It wasn’t long before the company released an official statement claiming they had apologized to the customer.
Blue Bunny Denies It Occurred in Packing Department
In one portion of their lengthy statement, Blue Bunny argued there’s no way the frog hopped into their container during manufacturing.
“We acknowledge the product in question is made by Wells Enterprises and, through our investigation, we confirmed this could not have occurred during our manufacturing process, but instead would have taken place after the product left our facility,” said Wells Enterprises.
Standards Are a Top Priority at Wells Enterprises
In another portion of their statement, Wells Enterprises argues that standards are one of their top priorities at the company.
“Product safety is our top priority at Wells, and we consistently achieve the highest quality standards in our facilities and in our manufacturing processes. We have robust quality systems in place and constantly evaluate our standards and processes to prevent anything like this from happening,” they said.
Snopes Calls Post a Hoax
Popular online fact-checker Snopes later released an article suggesting that the entire event could have been a hoax created by Tracey.
According to their report, it’s relatively unlikely the toad was inside the container before it was sealed shut.
Final Thoughts from Snopes
While Snopes admitted that the toad could have jumped into the container before it was sealed, they went on to explain why it’s doubtful.
According to their theory, a toad would be more likely to jump into the vat of ice cream and be poured alongside the dessert into the container. Yet, then, it would have been found somewhere in the middle instead of right at the top.
