FDA Confirms Amphibian in Diet Pepsi Can

Last updated 10:41 a.m. ET

Amy and Fred Denegri knew something was terribly wrong, after opening up and pouring a can of Diet Pepsi during an outdoor barbecue last month.

The Food and Drug Administration has confirmed that either a frog or a toad was in the soda can, but it's not clear how or when it got there.

The FDA confirmed the remains of an animal were in Fred Denegri's can of Diet Pepsi. Denegri popped open the can July 23 as he was grilling dinner in Ormond Beach.

Her husband drank some "and immediately realized something was not correct, did not taste right," Amy Denegri said on CBS' "The Early Show."

"He proceeded to go to the sink right there, we have a sink by our outdoor kitchen. He poured the soda out and as it got towards the end of the can, noticed that it was a little heavy in the can and he started to shake it. And that's when the pink stuff started coming out and something in there wouldn't come out of the hole."

She said at first they had no idea what it could be. "I got it and did the same thing, shaking it, trying to get it out and it also wouldn't come out of the hole."

So they took pictures and called Poison Control and the FDA.

"Looking at the pictures, we started thinking that it was a mouse, but we weren't positive. That's why we had the FDA take it."

The FDA tested it and confirmed inside the can was either a frog or a toad, "lacking internal organs normally found in the abdominal and thoracic cavity."

"We were really surprised," Amy said about the FDA report. "It's just, it is disgusting to us."

The can was traced back to a plant in Orlando that produces about 1,250 cans a minute.

In a statement to CBS News, Pepsi said, "The well-being of our consumers is paramount and we are fully confident in the safety and quality of every product we make, sell and deliver.

"As we've stated all along, the speed of our production lines and the rigor of our quality control systems make it virtually impossible for this type of thing to happen in a production environment. It is unfortunate that 'The Early Show' has refused our invitation to visit our Orlando plant to see this firsthand.

"There never has been even a single instance when a claim of this nature has been traced back to a manufacturing issue," Pepsi continued. "The FDA conducted a thorough inspection of our Orlando facility and found no cause for concern. In this case, the FDA simply was unable to determine when or how the specimen entered the package."

The company had previously defended its production process and quality control to the Associated Press, in a statement which Denegri today called "unfortunate."

"We're quite disturbed at their reaction. Really all we would have liked would have been a nice apology from Pepsi and that has not happened."

She said she and her husband are seeking legal advice.

Denegri had advice for "Early Show" viewers: "Just don't drink out of the can of any kind of soda because you never know what you're going to find."