Shocked mum finds deadly scorpion hiding in broccoli she bought at major supermarket Aldi

An Australian mother has warned shoppers to be on high alert after finding an angry  scorpion hiding in vegetables she bought from the supermarket.

Mum Chloe was ‘shocked’ to find a live scorpion living in a head of broccoli purchased from Aldi at Ulladulla on the NSW South Coast when she went to prepare the vegetable in her kitchen.

The stinging arachnid crawled out of the broccoli and reared up when exposed.

Thousands of people die each year from scorpion stings, but no fatality has ever been recorded in Australia. The deadly varieties live in Africa, the Middle East, India, Mexico and parts of South America (pictured an Algerian scorpion)

‘I’m happy dealing with caterpillars and bugs in fresh produce but was shocked to see a scorpion crawling around. He was very much alive and very cranky,’ Chloe told 9Honey.

She said the broccoli was bought by her father-in-law, whom she called after finding the nasty critter.

‘Just a friendly reminder to check your fresh produce,’ wrote Chloe in a mum’s social media group next to the photo of the stinger.

‘My [father-in-law] bought a head of broccoli from the [Aldi] Ulladulla store today and after I had cut it up and started cooking it I realised something was crawling around my chopping board. It turns out a scorpion was living in the broccoli.’

NSW mum Chloe said she was usually fine with finding bugs in fresh food, but finding a scorpion was a different matter

Chloe admitted she called her husband on finding the bad news bug, and he repeated ‘some choice words’. 

Scorpions are found right across Australia, living in a huge variety of habitats, but there have not been any fatalities recorded from their bites here.

‘Several thousand people die each year from scorpion bites, but this mortality is due to the venom of about 25 species located in northern Africa, the Middle East, India, Mexico and parts of South America,’ according to the Museum of Victoria.

But they can inflict an extremely painful sting – administered by the stinger at tip of the tail – that results in swelling and pain for several hours. 

You should call a doctor if you get bitten by a scorpion. 

Alarmed social media users reacted with shock and humour at the sight of the scorpion and the chance the same thing could easily happen to them.

Chloe’s father-in-law purchased the broccoli, which came with a free scorpion, at Aldi at Ulladulla on the NSW South Coast

‘Bloody hell! This wouldn’t of happened if it was a donut box! See people! Healthy eating is dangerous,’ said Margarita. 

‘Just shows the food was fresh with no chemicals on it,’ wrote Troy. 

‘Just another reason not to eat brocolli,’ said Sari on Facebook. 

‘For the current price of broccoli right now finding the protein already added saves money,’ Lesley joked.

‘We strongly encourage customers to bring issues to our attention directly so we can review,’ Aldi said in a statement.

‘Without contact with the customer, we can confirm that it is very unusual, and that this broccoli hitchhiker isn’t where they belong — which is likely back on our Aussie producers’ farm.’