Maker insists coconut water is 'squid free' after customer complains

May 16 (UPI) -- The makers of a popular brand of coconut water said their product is "squid free" after a New York woman found a strange object inside her beverage.

Barbara Kline, 34, of Goshen, posted photos to Facebook showing the bizarre object she found inside her Vita Coco coconut water after taking a sip and noticing the taste was wrong.

"I have been sick to my stomach since I had this last night I don't know what it is it looks like mold but I am highly convinced that it's something else," Kline wrote.

She wrote in a follow-up post that the object resembled "a freaking octopus," and she described the object to the New York Post as a "squid or octopus-looking thing."

"I swallowed a big clump. It was really nasty and it tasted really thick," Kline told WABC-TV.

"I don't know if I got sick because I saw the thing or if it's because it was poison or something," she said.

Kline said her doctor performed blood work and she was deemed to be free of infection.

Vita Coco said in a news release that its product is "squid free."

"It is highly unlikely what this consumer claims she found in her Vita Coco poses any health risk," said Arthur Gallego, Vita Coco's global director of corporate communications.

"Vita Coco is a preservative-free beverage made from naturally occurring ingredients. While the consumer has yet to return the product for testing, this looks like typical food spoilage. This consumer's product was likely left opened, improperly refrigerated or damaged, and after reviewing the images she has posted, we are confident it is mold growth."

Kline said she doesn't trust the company enough to turn over the object, which she has been keeping in her freezer.

"They offered to pick it up from my house," she said. "But why would I give them the only evidence I have to protect myself?"

Kline said she is meeting with a lawyer to discuss her options.

"I'm not after money," Kline said. "That wasn't my intention. I'm after closure. But being that the company isn't working with me, I am looking into suing them."