SAN DIEGO, Calif. (CBS8) - A local Navy man is in a battle with the makers of Vitamin Water after he said he became violently ill after taking a gulp of the popular energy drink.
The bottle had some sort of contamination inside, according to Brett Harrison, who purchased the Vitamin Water at Naval Base San Diego in the 32nd Street commissary.
Harrison said he drank from the bottle while he was driving away from the base and right away he started vomiting. Inside the bottle was some sort of gooey, foreign material, which Harrison did not notice before he took the swig.
"The bottle was brand new. I went right from the commissary to the car and opened it right up," said Harrison. "It was stringy but there were globs of it."
"I didn't know if it was some sort of mold that could be harmful or something animal related. I had no idea," Harrison recalled.
Harrison said he became extremely ill and ended in the hospital. Then he called an attorney, who wrote a letter to the Vitamin Water's parent company Glaceau, which is owned by the Coca Cola company.
"When we first sent the letter, we didn't hear anything for at least two weeks and at that point we decided they're probably not going to respond," said Harrison. "So we went to Channel 8 and asked for some help."
Following emails from News 8, the Glaceau company sent a technician to take samples of the Vitamin Water at Harrison's attorney's office; and the company is currently testing the sample to find out what was in it.
In a statement to News 8, a Glaceau spokesperson wrote:
| "Thank you for reaching out to us. We would like to express our concern for Mr. Harrison. We take great pride in offering our consumers products of the highest quality. We take these situations very seriously, and we are in the process of investigating this matter." |
It's been more than month since the testing and still no word on what that slimy substance might be.
"I was shocked and disappointed in the fact that they would allow something like this to be thrown out to their consumers," said Harrison.
No lawsuit has been filed in connection with the incident. Harrison said he is looking for some sort of assurance from the company that a similar contamination will not happen in the future.
"I have not consumed one ounce of Vitamin Water since this happened," said Harrison. "When I walk past a clear display case where Vitamin Water is held, I literally get an ill feeling in my stomach."