Gabriel, 19, vomited from the find in the bottle • Being compensated: “Feels like a mockery”
Gabriel, 19, vomited several times after the unpleasant find in the Coca-Cola bottle, which he initially thought was a finger.
But what was in the bottle remained a mystery – at least until now.
An analysis of the contents that Coca-Cola had an external laboratory carry out shows that it is a medicine.
– The external analysis of the bottle and its contents shows that the foreign material is a jelly-like substance, says Hanna Thofelt Lindström, communications manager at The Coca-Cola Company Sweden.
It was at the end of October that Gabriel, 19, got an unpleasant surprise when he was going to Coca-Cola. When he opened the bottle, he discovered what he first thought was a severed finger. Something that TV4 Nyheterna reported on earlier.
– I was really shocked because at first I thought it was a severed finger, said Gabriel Wärnlund to TV4 Nyheterna.
When the bottle was emptied of its contents, they could see that there was what Gabriel described as pieces of a plastic glove and small white pieces of styrofoam. But exactly what kind of object it was remained a mystery.
Sent to lab
After Gabriel and the family contacted Coca-Cola, the item was retrieved and sent to an outside laboratory for analysis of its contents. Now the test results show that it was the drug Omeprazole, which is used for stomach problems, including acid reflux.
– Our data confirms that production was carried out without deviations. The external analysis of the bottle and its contents shows that the foreign material is a jelly-like substance, similar to the capsule shell of a pharmaceutical supplement, and that the internal contents have been identified as Omeprazole, says Hanna Thofelt Lindström, Communications Manager at The Coca-Cola Company Sweden.
The company also states that it carried out “a thorough investigation” of the production and went through additional bottles from the same production day, but found nothing to indicate that this was added during production.
But how the object ended up in the bottle is still unclear.
Getting compensation: “Feels like a mockery”
The amount of medicine that was in the bottle must have been less than what can be considered dangerous, according to the company. Something that relieves the Wärnlund family.
Gabriel and the family have been promised vouchers as compensation from the company.
– It’s nice to get an answer and know that there was nothing dangerous in the capsule. But it feels a bit like a minor mockery when you are offered a compensation in vouchers that probably have to be used on their products.
See the find in the bottle in the player above.