Live frog found in airline meal
An airline passenger received a shock when she found a frog in her in-flight meal, New Zealand authorities say.
The 4cm (1.6-inch) whistling tree frog had stowed away in a salad on a Qantas flight from Melbourne to Wellington.
"There was a bit of consternation by the passenger who called back the attendant," said Fergus Small of New Zealand's Ministry of Agriculture. The attendant removed the salad and the frog, which was killed by quarantine staff when the aircraft landed.
Mr Small said frogs had been known to travel in the cargo holds of aircraft, but it was the first time the country's Quarantine Service was aware of one being found in a meal.
A Qantas spokesman told the New Zealand Herald newspaper that the airline had since changed its lettuce supplier and introduced "additional procedures into the salad supply process".
The whistling tree frog is found in south-east Australia and New Zealand. The male of the species has a whistling call.
