Annelies van der Waterbeemd from the Dutch town of Nuenen near Eindhoven had the shock of her life when she discovered a live gecko in a sealed bag of broccoli she was about to chop up for dinner earlier this week.

The broccoli was bought on Sunday in the local Albert Heijn supermarket and kept overnight in the fridge, local paper Eindhovens Dagblad says. Van der Waterbeemd spotted the brown lizard sealed in with the broccoli as she began preparing Monday’s meal.

Reptile foundation Stichting Ravon said the animal appeared to be a wall gecko which are common in Spain where the broccoli was grown, picked and sealed in plastic.

Checks

A spokesman for Albert Heijn said its vegetables undergo several checks before reaching the supermarket shelves. ‘The beast was obviously tough because it had survived in the packing for a couple of days.’

However its current whereabouts are unknown. After releasing the reptile from the plastic, Van der Waterbeemd’s father let it go in her garden.

‘Now I am getting all sorts of comments, that it should have been put in a terrarium or something because of the cold weather,’ she told local broadcaster Omroep Brabant. But the garden was the nearest place.’

Vrouw uit Nuenen ontdekt levende gekko op broccoli van Albert Heijn https://t.co/fPYeqRnKx4

— Eindhovens Dagblad (@ED_Regio) February 3, 2016