GREENVILLE COUNTY, SC (FOX Carolina) - An Upstate mother is speaking out after she said she made a shocking discovery in a bag of frozen fish.
The woman who asked not to be identified said she could hear her daughter rumbling through a freezer in their kitchen.
"My daughter ran into my room and said 'mom, did you see the snake?" she said.
Her daughter was referring to something she found in a package of boneless, skinless frozen tilapia. It wasn't a snake, but what it is remains unknown.
She said she bought the pack of fish, which indicated it was farm-raised in China, from the Walmart off Highway 153 in the Powdersville area about a month ago. When she and her daughter recently opened the package, they found something on the frozen fish - which is inside an individual vacuum sealed package.
"I was really concerned," she said. "That's when I contacted Walmart."
A FOX Carolina reporter went to Walmart's website and found the product. Online it states the fish is best aquaculture practices certified.
A reporter sent pictures of the thing located in this family's fish to an aquaponics professor at Clemson University. He studies farmed fish and confirmed what's on the fish isn't a snake.
He says it looks similar to nematodes or a tapeworm.
"Just the thought of it," the mother said. "I was really concerned."
She says she recently went back to Walmart where a manager offered to giver her a refund for the $5 bag of fish.
"It wasn't just giving me my money back that was a concern, it was just them doing the right thing," she said.
Now, she wants all bags off shelves and off the Walmart website. Since FOX Carolina contacted Walmart the boneless, skinless, 2 pound bag of tilapia is no longer available online.
A representative from the Walmart media relations department released this statement:
"We are committed to providing our customers with safe, quality foods. We encourage customers with questions about our products to return to the store and speak with a member of management."
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