Gatorade White Slime - Mold?
Today I purchased 2x 64oz Lemon Lime flavor Gatorade G2. I drink a lot of Gatorade, and have been drinking it for 25 years or so, but I had never seen a bottle like this. Inside my Gatorade G2 bottle were 2 large blobs of white slime floating around. After doing some checking, this is a very common issue with Gatorade, and it makes people sick enough to be hospitalized. I immediately tried to contact Gatorade to ask what this was. As I learned, this is a common event they deal with, and downplay it saying "It's just mold".
I am going to be updating this article when I receive the response from Gatorade.
Last updated: 7/13/2015
Contents
Description of Gatorade Slime
The white slime itself had a similar texture to fabric, tiny strands of white were interwoven to form a single mass or blob. Inside the strands were VERY tiny dark dots like specs of dust. As the white slime blob rotates it changes shape easily with the Gatorade currents around it. The blob in my drink stayed in the bottom 1/3 of the bottle. The Gatorade with the blob in it is slightly more translucent than a normal Gatorade solution, it diffuses less light. I would estimate the actual mass of the blob at 1-3 grams and the volume it occupies while in the bottle is about 1-2 fluid ounces.
My Bottle of Gatorade G2
- Flavor: G2 Lemon Lime
- Size: 64oz
- Barcode: 5200033832
- Product Expiration: Nov 12 15
- 12 digit number under expiration: 0838KM021551
- Purchased: Florida
Contacting Gatorade
I called Gatorade that night after-hours, and noticed they have a medical emergency number available 24 hours a day to call, no explanation given obviously. Anyway, I waited for their normal hours and called the number again. I was connected to a random customer support rep, told her my problem, and she transferred me to her supervisor. I told this supervisor my problem, and he transferred me to his supervisor. I will not use her name, but she seemed very well spoken, she chose her words very carefully, and was very polite.
She went straight into some facts about mold, comparing this white blob in my Gatorade to a cheese that has grown mold. It sounds reasonable to me, mold is a fungus and fungus grows tiny white strands, potentially with tiny black spores. Either way, the nice Gatorade lady told me to send my unopened bottle of toxic Gatorade to them for analysis. They will send a pre-paid shipping box to my house with a sample release form that states the bottle is still mine, and I can have it back after analysis if I wanted.
After thinking about my experience, it is now pretty clear to me that Gatorade has had this happen before, probably many times.
What is the Gatorade white slime?
This section at this time is conjecture, I have not yet received the analysis from Gatorade.
- Gatorade Mold (almost certain) - A type of mold that grows in Gatorade
- Backed up by the 'Vitamin Water' white slime
- Backed up by the visible white strands with tiny black (spores?) in the Gatorade
- Some molds produce mycotoxins that can make people really sick
- Nice Gatorade Lady mentioned this as a possible scenario
- Product tampering (not likely) - Semen, snot, other organic stuff
- I could not tell the difference in appearance, they may look the same
- Still these would not normally make people sick... right?
- Byproduct of the machinery (not likely) - some congealed sludge from machines, or fabric from factory
- That wouldnt make people sick
External Links
Similar to this article
- Consumer Affairs - Complaints about Gatorade - Looks like 100% are about the slime
- Jon Indie's Blog - "Gatorade Complaints - Slimy Substance" - Same as this article
- Youtube Video - "Gatorade - slime substance strainer" - video of the slime
- Baby Center - "Gatorade Mold. YUCK"
Related to this topic
- CBS - Consumer Alert: Lab tests show gooey mold in ‘Vitamin Water'
- Facepunch - "Something in my Apple Juice" (Mold)
- Exercise in Futility - "Updated - The Jellyfish in my Ice Tea Bottle"
