Tampered Foods

The summer is almost upon us, so that means we will soon have an opportunity to enjoy seasonal fruits and delicacies once again. Watermelon is a refreshing summertime favorite for people of all ages because it is an easy, yummy treat. One Monroe Dispatch reader recently purchased three watermelons from Walmart in West Monroe. A strange object found in his watermelon has left him questioning if our produce and food items are actually safe for us to eat. Mr. X (real identity concealed) and his family enjoyed eating watermelon and saved the last half. The next day he took the halved watermelon out of the refrigerator and discovered an object that appeared to be a syringe hidden in the watermelon. Seeing the object frightened him, especially after he and his family had already consumed two other watermelons from the same Walmart days earlier, so he was immediately concerned about the possibility of being poisoned by what he'd eaten. He is still unsure of what the object is. He contacted his sister, a registered nurse, who advised him to visit the emergency room to have a toxicology report done, ensuring that he and his family had no consumed something that is dangerous and could kill them. Blood work was done at a local emergency room, and luckily the report did not reveal anything poisonous or hazardous found in his body. He was advised to file a police report and then went to the local health unit to share what was found in his food. Health unit administrators suggested that he consult officials with the country's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as it seems this tampered produce could be the evidence officials need to enforce stricter regulating guidelines. There are many unknowns – was the object inserted into the watermelon in Mexico, its origin country, or the United States? What was the motive of someone who inserted the object? Does the object contain a poisonous substance that can harm the people who consume it? Mr. X is still unsure of what the object he found in his watermelon is and hopes his discovery will help lead to stricter rules for regulating produce grown both internationally and nationally; More importantly, he shares his story to inform the community of potential hazards in the foods they are consuming.