Needle found in ice cream section at Jacksonville Winn-Dixie

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Action News Jax began investigating after a photo on a community page showed a needle inside an ice cream freezer at a Jacksonville Winn-Dixie.

We contacted a local Winn-Dixie representative to confirm it was in the ice cream section at the store off University and San Jose.

The spokesperson said the object was immediately removed after it was found and the area was thoroughly cleaned and sanitized.

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She said Winn-Dixie is now investigating and making sure there are no other related items in the store.

For local mom and shopper Alexis Mauldin, this is much more serious than a prank.

"[It's] scary and disgusting. That's bad," Mauldin said.

"It kind of makes me mad because what if [there] was a disease on there and my child goes to put his hand in there and it sticks him?" she added.

Statement from the Winn-Dixie representative:

"The safety of our customers is always our number one priority and we have taken this incident very seriously. After a thorough investigation, we determined that the item is one commonly used for medication. As part of our process, local law enforcement was contacted to recover the item. The area was thoroughly cleaned and all reasonable precautions were taken, including the removal of all product from the frozen foods section in which the item was found."
- Kaley Shaffer, Sr. Manager, Consumer Communication and Community Affairs, Southeastern Grocers

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Cox Media Group