I ordered some Secret Aardvark sauces from (perhaps foolishly) Amazon. Two two packs. Three of the four bottles came a little sticky, smelly, and with the seals seemingly ruptured. Pretty sad. I got smoky chipotle and drunken garlic, which were recommended to me and I had never heard of, but immediately sounded amazing. I like the standard red and green Secret Aardvark varieties a lot.
But I've gotta send these back, right? Maybe that one chipotle without leaks would be ok… I'm gonna have to scour local grocery stores now.
by ItsBigStew
12 Comments
That happens sometimes even on the store shelves. The second or third ingredient is vinegar so I wouldn’t be too terribly concerned, but since this Amazon, I would complain.
Return them and try to buy in person. You never know what you’re going to get with food products on Amazon.
Could you squeeze the bottle and hear air escape? Just wondering if it may have happened after sealing, and it’s still sealed.
You should be entitled to a refund for sure. The sauce is still probably fine to eat, but it’s fair to expect a non-damaged seal. For what it’s worth, I sell Aardvark on my site (www.heathotsauce.com/aardvark) and we double check the seals before shipping out. And even with the flat rate $5.99 shipping charge, it should be cheaper than two 2 packs on Amazon (if my math is correct, $33.95 vs around $42)
Whenever I get something that’s got a broken seal or something I just tell customer service and they refund immediately.
The two seals on the left look puffed out or inflated. DO NOT EAT anything that seems like it’s expanding inside the package. That is a classic sign of bacterial proliferation and that kind of stuff could make you extremely ill. As a general rule, NEVER eat anything that looks inflated in the package.
That’s why I try to avoid ordering liquids of any kind from Amazon when I can avoid it. Too many stories of containers tossed in with other stuff and leaking all over everything and ruining the entire order.
Order directly from Secret Aardvark after getting a refund from Amazon, their customer service is excellent and their website bundles are well priced. Also their smoked reaper sauce is amazing!
Yeah…don’t eat those
Please immediately contact the maker and share any batch information: production date, lot number, etc.
Do not consume call support immediately and get your new bottles, throw those away. You have no idea how much oxygen they’re been exposed to and you will get sick
Contact Secret Aardvark. I ordered 8 bottles of sauce from them about 6 weeks ago (1 5-alarm set and 3 bottles of serrabanero ranch). The ranch had separated to where oil was accumulating on the top, and even after mixing, the texture was way off.
I contacted support – they determined that some of their ranch had separated on the shelves and pulled it to reformulate. They offered a refund or other bottles in exchange – got some more original hab and an additional hot scorpion.
While I’m disappointed I didn’t get to try to the serrabanero ranch, I am completely satisfied with how they handled the situation and will not hesitate to order from them again.