Toothpick found inside melon purchased from supermarket
Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
News
Sources not specified
Outcome reported
- A customer discovered a toothpick inside a melon purchased from a supermarket.
- The customer shared the incident online, receiving a replacement melon from the store.
- It remains unclear if the toothpick was a store error or intentionally placed by another consumer.
A shopper's routine trip to the supermarket took a bizarre turn when they discovered a toothpick lodged inside a melon they had purchased. The unsettling find was shared on social media, prompting concern and speculation about its origin.
Why is this (toothpick) put in here? I don't know what kind of toothpick it is, and I'm discarding it.
The customer posted a picture on the platform Threads showing a halved melon with a toothpick inserted into it. Small puncture marks, consistent with a toothpick, were visible on the melon's exterior. The shopper stated they bought the melon from a supermarket and expressed dismay, questioning why the toothpick was there and noting they would discard it out of concern for potential harm if accidentally ingested.
If I had eaten it without knowing, I think I could have been seriously injured.
Online reactions suggested various possibilities, with many leaning towards the idea that it was not the farmer's doing but rather a prank by someone at the supermarket. Some speculated that a toothpick meant for tasting samples might have been deliberately stuck into a melon intended for sale.
It doesn't seem like the farmers did it; it seems like someone at the supermarket played a prank.
Responding to the situation, the customer reported that the supermarket's customer service center addressed the issue. They received a replacement melon and an apology from the store. The customer requested that the store take measures to prevent recurrence.
It seems like someone secretly put a tasting toothpick into a melon for sale, otherwise it can't be explained.
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by Dong-A Ilbo in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
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