Bunnings responds after shopper's unusual find in potting mix sparks concern
Concerns were raised by a Bunnings shopper after she made an unexpected discovery inside packaged potting mix, prompting a reminder from the retail giant to always do one thing when using such products in the garden.
The shopper bought Scotts Osmocote native premium potting mix this week and when she ripped it open, she was greeted with an unidentified growth which had spread throughout the soil. "Bought Osmocote premium potting mix from Bunnings and I just opened it and it looks mouldy," she said. "Has anyone had this happen to them?"
After sharing the discovery online, some Aussies suggested she take it back and ask for a refund. However, others pointed out it's exactly what you want to see — "You want your soil to be alive. This is good," one woman explained.
Yahoo News reached out to Bunnings which confirmed the woman's soil discovery is completely normal.
The company explained its potting mixes are made up of organic components and subsequently contain micro-organisms, meaning mould often grows inside the bags. It isn't necessarily a common occurrence, but when it does happen, shoppers shouldn't be alarmed. To ease any worried minds, Bunnings suggested Aussies are best placed to follow simple safety precautions when working in the garden — such as wearing gloves and a mask.
😷 Silent garden killer claims four lives in 'unprecedented' Aussie outbreak
😲 Strange garden discovery that 'sprung up' overnight baffles Aussies
😰 Discovery under floorboards leaves Aussies 'genuinely terrified'
This was echoed by Aussies online, with one urging other green thumbs to "wear a mask when dealing with potting mix" as "inhaling fungal spores is never good".
"Make sure you wear a mask and gloves," another said.
If customers do find mould in their soil and are unhappy, Yahoo News understands shoppers are permitted to swap or refund it in store.
Previously, health authorities have warned that inhaling contaminated potting mixtures could lead to contracting Legionnaires' disease, tetanus and a range of lung infections, due to the rich range of bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms contained in most soil mixtures.
In 2022, in NSW there was an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease related to the use of potting mixture, with one woman dying and 96 other people reported as becoming seriously ill. In Queensland, there were 88 cases, two of which were fatal.
This year, 41 cases of potentially deadly melioidosis — a serious illness caused by bacteria found lurking in tropical North Australian soils and water — have been recorded in Cairns and its surrounding hinterland region.
Since the wet season kicked off in November, almost 60 people have presented to Cairns Hospital with melioidosis, and additional cases have appeared in Townsville, James Cook University microbiologist Jeffrey Warner told Yahoo News Australia last week, describing it as "unprecedented".
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
21 hours ago
- New York Post
Former MLB pitcher Steven Register finds liver donor in high-school classmate he hadn't seen in 20 years
A man's Facebook plea for a liver donor attracted the attention of a high-school acquaintance he hadn't spoken to in 20 years. In April 2024, after experiencing appetite loss and losing 15 pounds in a month, Steven Register, 42, was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, according to news agency SWNS. Advertisement Doctors told the former MLB pitcher — who played for the Colorado Rockies in 2008 and the Philadelphia Phillies in 2009 — that a liver transplant was likely his best chance of survival. 'When we first met with the doctors, they gave me a year to a year-and-a-half to live,' Register said, adding that he and his wife, Beth, immediately started researching options. The couple traveled from Auburn, Alabama, to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, where Register underwent surgery for a temporary ostomy bag and began chemotherapy, per the SWNS report. Plans for the liver resection were canceled when doctors discovered the tumors were too large, which led the couple to consider a transplant. Advertisement Register's wife created a Facebook group to search for a living liver donor, hoping someone would come forward in time. 4 Steven Register's wife created a Facebook group to search for a living liver donor. Beth Register / SWNS An unexpected volunteer Kristin Johnston, a 40-year-old preschool teacher from Roswell, Georgia, saw the post and recognized Register as a former high-school classmate. The two had met in 1999 at Shaw High School in Columbus, Georgia, but hadn't spoken in over two decades. Advertisement 'It was just so far out of left field,' said Register, who couldn't believe it when Johnston volunteered to donate part of her liver. 4 The preschool teacher recognized Register from high school and offered to donate part of her liver. Kristin Johnston / SWNS He added to SWNS, 'I haven't seen or talked to her in over 20 years, and for her to reach out like that, it was just meant to be.' Johnston said she started by doing a quick online search for live liver donation and discovered that blood type compatibility was the first step. Advertisement 'I just sent him a message,' she said. 'I said, 'Hey, what's your blood type?' and he said, 'I'm B positive.'' 4 Johnston took this image in the hospital. Kristin Johnston / SWNS She responded, 'Wait, that's mine, too,' and offered, 'I'll happily donate a lobe if I'm a match.' Johnston was later cleared as a match and received the confirmation on a meaningful day. 'I got the news on Good Friday, of all days, that I was officially cleared as his liver donor,' she said. Surgery and second chances The surgery, which is expected to take 12 to 14 hours, will involve removing 70% of Johnston's liver and transplanting it into Register, according to SWNS. Both her remaining liver and the donated portion will regenerate over time, giving both a second chance at health. 'For her, she is ultimately giving him the gift of life — for him, a really fresh start in this journey,' said Beth Register. Advertisement 4 Register is a former MLB pitcher who played for the Colorado Rockies and Philadelphia Phillies. Beth Register / SWNS Steven Register said he hoped that 'once I get my liver with all the tumor and cancer out, I'll be cancer-free from there.' The Register family — including children McKenzie (16), Blakely (14) and Brooks (8) — launched a fundraiser on SupportNow to help with travel, food and medical expenses. Johnston and her husband Cody, 38, a real estate developer, have three kids of their own — Sawyer (9), Teddy (7) and Dahlia (4). Raising awareness and faith Advertisement Beth Register said she hopes their family's story raises awareness about the impact of living organ donation. 'A lot of people don't realize that live donations, whether it be for livers or kidneys, are even an option,' she said. She added that Johnston had been selfless from the start. Advertisement The families believe fate had a hand in reconnecting them, per SWNS. 'We just pray that God is opening all the right doors and that Kristin is the perfect donor for him,' Beth Register said. 'We just appreciate her being willing to put her life on pause to hopefully lengthen his life by many, many, many years.'
New York Post
2 days ago
- New York Post
‘Harmful' TikTok trend fueling new wave of ‘dangerous' diet culture
TikTok has long been a breeding ground for viral trends, but its latest subculture, 'SkinnyTok,' is reigniting old diet culture in a digital age. Behind the trendy filters and catchy sounds lies an extremely problematic reality – a community where thinness is idolised, extreme calorie deficits are glamorised, and the pursuit of a shrinking body is celebrated, often at the expense of mental and physical health. The rise of SkinnyTok Advertisement SkinnyTok refers to a corner of the internet where creators openly document their weight loss journeys, post 'what I eat in a day' videos featuring alarmingly low calorie counts, and share 'body checks' (videos where people weigh and measure themselves). Some even boast about 'gaslighting' themselves into being skinny, or confess to daily gym visits out of a fear of being 'fat' – even when they already fit society's narrow beauty standards. TikTok has, for its part, attempted to clamp down on this content. 5 TikTok has long been a breeding ground for viral trends, but its latest subculture, 'SkinnyTok,' is reigniting old diet culture in a digital age. Volodymyr – Advertisement Searching for 'SkinnyTok' now triggers a warning: 'You're not alone' and prompts people to seek help if they're struggling with body image, food, or exercise. Influencers like Liv Schmidt, who built a following of over 670,000 with her 'blonde and skinny' persona, have been banned. Yet, the algorithm still seems to serve up the very content it claims to protect users from. So, what can people do to safeguard themselves online? Advertisement First, you need to understand what SkinnyTok is, how the trend has managed to gain such a huge following, and who is most at risk. 5 Searching for 'SkinnyTok' now triggers a warning: 'You're not alone' and prompts people to seek help if they're struggling with body image, food, or exercise. Odua Images – The personal toll Jemma Haythorne, a confidence coach, speaker, and podcaster, knows firsthand the damage that online diet culture can do. 'I started hating my body when I was 12 years old, but really spiralled into disordered eating when I was 16. My friends and I would follow skinny content on Tumblr, using it as 'motivation' to eat less to achieve our goals of being thin,' she tells Advertisement For Haythorne, the pressure peaked during Schoolies, when the prospect of hundreds of Facebook photos led her to subsist on scarily low calories and avoid water to prevent 'bloating' – all ideas she picked up from social media. 'Instagram then became a dangerous place too for someone with body image issues and a fraught relationship with food,' she says, adding that the rise of fitness influencers and 'clean eating' trends was fuel for her already disordered behaviors. Her lowest point came between 2017 and 2019. 'Social media told me that everyone was thin, gorgeous, tanned, hairless, toned, and successful, because that's what the algorithm was serving me, and those were the people who were platformed,' she says. 'The message that I received was that I was failing, because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't meet those standards.' Haythorne believes that without social media, she would never have developed an eating disorder, depression, and anxiety to the extent she did. The cyclical nature of online trends She says she has witnessed body ideals shift over the years, from ultra-thin, to athletic and toned, to the 'Kim Kardashian' hourglass, and now back to just 'plain thin.' Advertisement Despite the rise of the body positivity movement, she's sceptical about its real-world impact: 'The body ideal has always come back to being in a smaller body — something that I desperately hope we can change in the future.' The influencer effect Influencers and content creators play a massive role in shaping body image perceptions, Haythorne argues. 5 Psychologist Carly Dober confirms that SkinnyTok can trigger and exacerbate disordered eating behaviors and eating disorders. Kate – 'Those who post content that encourages unhealthy relationships with food and bodies are directly damaging their audience. SkinnyTok content is incredibly problematic and harmful, and when this becomes trendy, it becomes dangerous, especially for those who don't have the knowledge and understanding of how damaging it is.' Advertisement But the damage isn't always obvious. Seemingly innocuous 'before and after' photos reinforce the idea that smaller is better, while meal inspiration videos suggest that copying someone's diet will yield the same body. 'Any form of editing of bodies or faces makes people think they need to live up to looking like that in order to be beautiful or worthy, yet the person themselves doesn't even look like that,' she notes. She claims that while platforms like TikTok and Instagram have a responsibility to manage the harm they promote, individual influencers must also be aware of their impact. The psychological impact Advertisement Psychologist Carly Dober confirms that SkinnyTok can trigger and exacerbate disordered eating behaviors and eating disorders. 'These trends influence how people perceive and evaluate their own bodies, and the bodies of others. Behaviorally, people may self-isolate, which can also impact their work, education, and relationships,' she explains. Beyond the psychological impact, the physical consequences are dire too. Eating disorders can harm the heart, digestive system, bones, teeth, and mouth. Advertisement Typical serious side effects include low blood pressure, slow or irregular heartbeats, feeling tired, weak, dizzy, or faint, constipation and bloating, irregular periods, and weak bones. Who's most at risk? According to Dober, certain groups are especially vulnerable to the dangers of SkinnyTok. These include: – Adolescents (especially those aged 12–25) with a median age of 18 – Women during key transition periods (e.g. finishing school) 5 'SkinnyTok content is incredibly problematic and harmful, and when this becomes trendy, it becomes dangerous, especially for those who don't have the knowledge and understanding of how damaging it is,' experts said. LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS – – Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome or diabetes – Athletes and those in appearance-focused activities like dancing – People with a family history of eating disorders – Anyone seeking help for weight loss or who has engaged in dieting or disordered eating The role of TikTok's culture Qualified nutritionist Yaz Jackson sees SkinnyTok as part of a broader trend of 'normalizing' harmful behaviors on TikTok. She notes that TikTok's culture is different from Instagram's: 'You can 'get away' with more. It's more of a diary, people feel like they can say whatever, and it's lighthearted, and nobody judges. I've seen creators say things like 'I could never share this on Insta, they'd judge me, but I can tell you guys,'' Jackson believes there's a trend of radical honesty emerging on TikTok, where creators are praised for sharing 'the tea' – the secrets behind their appearance, whether it's the use of medication, diets, or cosmetic surgery. Their content is being favoured, as people applaud them for being 'real' and 'not fake' – i.e., unlike the countless models and celebrities who pretend they eat pizza and burgers when the reality is much different. 'This trend then gains traction because when enough people make something okay to talk about again, they feel safer,' she said. 'Things that were once stigmatized are now being accepted – but only if you are super honest and transparent about it. People love that.' The dangers of unqualified advice Dr. Zac, a GP, urges people to exercise caution when seeking health advice online, especially when it comes from unqualified creators. 'Health advice should come from qualified professionals – doctors, registered dietitians, clinical psychologists – people with actual credentials, not just abs and a ring light. If someone's offering drastic weight loss 'hacks' or pushing extreme transformations, especially if they're profiting from it, be wary,' he says. Things to look out for include: 'Are they citing evidence-based sources? Do they promote balance over extremes? Are they championing sustainable health, or quick fixes and aesthetic perfection?' How to safeguard your mental health Dober and Zac recommend several strategies for protecting yourself online: Curate your feed: Block or mute content and creators that promote unhealthy behaviors 5 SkinnyTok refers to a corner of the internet where creators openly document their weight loss journeys, post 'what I eat in a day' videos featuring alarmingly low calorie counts, and share 'body checks.' Floral Deco – Use platform tools: Filter out triggering keywords where possible Limit screen time: Reduce endless scrolling to avoid algorithm rabbit holes Follow positive accounts: Such as ones that promote body neutrality, mental health, and self-compassion Seek support: If you're struggling, reach out to a psychologist or trusted professional. And as Zac puts it: 'Healing starts when we stop punishing ourselves and start listening to what our body and mind actually need.'
Buzz Feed
2 days ago
- Buzz Feed
18 Wild Crunchy Parent Posts That Went Too Far
I'm sorry, but online parenting groups are out of control, and we need to talk about it. Instead of providing parents with a positive online forum and community, these groups tend to devolve into toxic echo chambers brimming with misinformation, bad advice, and brain rot. Here are 18 screenshots to prove it: This mom who wants other mom friends, but only if they're upper-middle class: This absolutely shameless weirdo who proves you really can't trust anyone: This person who spouted dangerous nonsense online: This overstepping grandparent who needs to be kept far away from this baby: This grossly judgmental parent who is going to give their child body images issues for life: This parent who harshly called their first child bad simply because they developed at a slower rate than their second child: This parent who is feverishly obsessed with pushing essential oils on their 16-year-old son: This parent who thinks scaring the hell out of their 4-year-old is an acceptable technique: This commenter who must suffer from serious brain rot because they think it's suitable to use a child's pain as an opportunity for a parent to grow: This parent who really, really wants to get their 10-week-old baby's ears pierced: This parent who really doesn't see how leaving their children alone in a car for half an hour is dangerous: This poster who wants to skip an important doctor's appointment for their baby, and a commenter who thinks asking ChatGPT is as good as receiving medical care: This anti-vax parent who wants to protect their kids from whooping not enough to vaccinate them: This stepmother who was upset that their stepchild was sick and "ruined" their Mother's Day: This expecting parent who spoke to a doctor and needs medical care, but rather consult randos on Facebook: This person who seems more concerned with the aesthetic of their homebirth than making sure it's safe: This parent who wants specialized care for their child who keeps getting kicked out of daycare, but refuses to pay fairly for such care: And finally, this parent who is drinking all sorts of internet Kool-Aid: H/T: r/ShitMomGroupsSay
