When local influencer Keabetswe posted on X earlier this year that she’d been noticing something strange with parents taking to TikTok expressing their disdain at Purity baby food pouches, many responded to her warning with stories of their own.
“Been seeing way too many TikToks where people are finding things that look like snake skin in their Purity baby food. Be careful y’all,” wrote Keabetswe.
While some social media users had theories of their own, Tiger Brands swiftly replied, saying: “We are aware of the unfortunate experience with one of our Purity Pouches and have already engaged with the consumer directly.”
Case closed.
We are aware of the unfortunate experience with one of our Purity Pouches and have already engaged with the consumer directly. Regards, Tiger Brands. 🙏🏽
— Tiger Brands (@TigerBrands) April 15, 2023
But most recently a Cape Town mom shared a similar experience after purchasing Purity Baby Food Purée at her local Clicks branch in Tyger Valley Shopping Centre, Cape Town.
Squeezing the contents from the pouch, thick globs of discoloured slime oozed out, looking nothing like baby food.
With an overlaying caption, the concerned mom wrote, “It happened to me! I don’t even want to know what this is that I found in this Purity pouch.”
Even though the disappointment of spending money on the spoilt product was palatable, parents in her comments section shared their own baby food hacks.
@baby.phawulwethu I bought it from @Clicks South Africa (Tyger Valley Shopping Centre, CPT) ☹️ #SAMA28 #trending #viral #purity #puree #clicks #tiktoksouthafrica #babytalk #baby #babyfood #babytiktok #fyp #productreview ♬ original sound - Phawu Jacobs 🧸![CDATA[]]>💙
“I'm so glad mommies in the comments are making their own, there's a food processor from clicks less than R300 and works wonders,” said one mom while sharing her plug.
Another added: “So sorry mommy, please make your own. We meal prep weekly and store in the fridge. I use leftovers after feeds to make her ice lollies.”
Tiger Brands, on the other hand, wasn’t let so easily off the hook.
When contacted by Briefly News, they did offer a plausible explanation.
"The mould develops in instances where the pouch seal is broken - either by the cap being twisted open; the flexible pouch material being punctured through handling or the spout being damaged - air and external contaminants that are not present in the product, such as mould, can enter the pouch,“ a spokesperson told the online publication.
“This results in spoilage which could lead to bad odours and the appearance of foreign particles in the product.”
In September this year, another Cape Town mother voiced her concern after claiming her baby bit into a “worm” while being fed from a Purity Fruit Puree pouch.
In response, the company issued a similar statement, explaining that mould could be the cause of the bad odour and “appearance of foreign particles in the product”.
IOL Lifestyle