Dead frog found in a Pepsi soda can in Florida

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Frog in Diet Pepsi

Frog in Diet Pepsi: 'Mouse' in Pepsi can was frog, FDA says

A Diet Pepsi can consumed by an Ormond Beach man did indeed contain the remains of an animal, believed to be a frog or a toad.

Ludmilla Lelis

Sentinel Staff Writer

11:46 AM EDT, September 2, 2009


The tests are in and a federal report confirms what seems like an urban legend: a Diet Pepsi can consumed by an Ormond Beach man did indeed contain the remains of an animal, believed to be a frog or a toad.

Amy Denegri said she has received a report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration with test results showing that the soda can contained a small animal, which they had thought was a rodent.

Her husband, Fred Denegri, regularly drinks Diet Pepsi and popped open the can on July 23 as they were grilling dinner outdoors. He took one sip and thought the soda tasted awful, but what they saw inside the can was even more awful.

They saw the remains of the animal, which had deteriorated, making it difficult to identify it, but the body mass was too large to come out of the hole.

A representative with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took the can for further testing and the Denegris received a report that confirmed the findings.

A Pepsi spokesman said the company is aware of the FDA testing and still stands by its manufacturing process. The can was traced back to a plant in Orlando, which runs about 1,250 cans a minute on the production line.

"As we've stated all along, the speed of our production lines and the rigor of our quality control systems make it virtually impossible for this type of thing to happen in a production environment," said Pepsi spokesman Jeff Dahncke.

"The FDA conducted a thorough inspection of our Orlando facility and found no cause for concern. In this case, the FDA simply was unable to determine when or how the specimen entered the package," he said.

However, Amy Denegri is certain the animal was in the can before her husband opened it. He had just pulled the can out of their refrigerator, opened it in her presence and started drinking it right away, so there wasn't an opportunity for something to have crawled in when they weren't looking.

"The report proves that something was in there. We didn't do it," she said. "Obviously, it was too big for us to push inside that small hole."

The can had been part of a case purchased at the Sam's Club in Daytona Beach and Fred Denegri had consumed most of the soda without problems.

When the Diet Pepsi can complaint originally made the news in July, the Denegris said they were upset with accusations that they had faked the incident.

"That really upset us because we're not that kind of people," Amy Denegri said.

Fred Denegri continued to drink Diet Pepsi even after the incident, and the couple didn't intend to sue Pepsi.

However, Amy Denegri said they are receiving legal advice about the matter.

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