A Maine woman who prepared a salad says she realized after a couple of bites that her fork was stuck in a 3-inch lizard, minus the tail, and not in her avocado.
After vomiting and getting over her shock, Michelle Carr, a nurse from Kittery, said she feared she could have ingested harmful bacteria that her and her newborn son, who is breastfeeding, may be exposed to.
Carr said she bought a bag of store-brand romaine lettuce at a Shaw’s supermarket in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on Jan. 26.
A biologist friend believes she found a blue-bellied lizard from California.
This photo taken Monday, shows Michelle Carr, a nurse and new mother living in Kittery, Maine, displaying a dead lizard that she found and while eating a fresh salad
The lizard, in the salad in question. To make the situation even more upsetting for the mother to a new-born-son is that she doesn’t know if she ingested the tail, which is missing
The lizard measures three inches, without the tail, and now the mom, who is breast feeding, is worried about salmonella and E. coli exposure for her, and her baby
The lettuce was distributed by a California company. A supermarket spokeswoman said it notified the supplier.
Carr also called the state Health Department. A spokesman said because the lettuce was packaged and shipped from another state, any investigation would be conducted by the Food and Drug Administration.
‘I put my fork into my salad and realized after a couple bites and realized my fork was not in an avocado slice, it was in a lizard. It was disgusting, I was a shock. I immediately started to wretch,’ she told WMUR.
‘There’s no way to know whether or not I actually ingested the tail,’ Carr said.
‘How could this happen?’ she said. ‘The first time and only time I’ve ever bought a bag of prepackaged lettuce, this happens. Go figure.’
Carr, whose newborn son is breastfeeding, is concerned about salmonella and E. coli exposure for her, and her baby.
The mom to a new-born-son (pictured) is concerned about harmful bacteria she may have ingested
Michelle Carr, a nurse and new mother living in Kittery, Maine, holds a dead lizard that she found and while eating a fresh salad on January 26
‘That was very, very scary for me,’ she said.
The nurse says she is still waiting on more answers after contacting the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration and Shaw’s.
Carr hopes others will learn from this incident, and not only watch what you buy, but to be diligent with your food one you get home.
‘It’s not just something you read about in the papers,’ she said. ‘We need to be really diligent about washing your produce no matter where you get it from.’