Whole Foods oops: 'Asparagus water' a mistake

Whole Foods (WFM)  was just kidding with that $6 Asparagus Water.

After the bottles — literally three stalks of asparagus in each bottle of water — were spotted on the shelf of a Whole Foods in California earlier this week, a photo of the asparagus water posted by a customer to Instagram started trending on social media.

Twitter users were quick to make fun of the company for selling such an unusual, seemingly ridiculous product.

But the bottles, which were on shelves at a store in Brentwood, Calif., were a mistake, says spokeswoman Liz Burkhart.

"We actually don't sell asparagus water in our stores," Burkhart told USA TODAY.

The bottles, priced at $5.99, have since been pulled from shelves.

"For $5.99, that asparagus water from Whole Foods better be straight from God's tears," Omar Munoz, @rvinman_, tweeted.

Burkhart says the product was meant to be similar to bone broth, a recent health food trend that involves drinking broth like you would tea.

"It was meant to be water with the essence of vegetables and/or mushrooms, which is typically made over a long period of time soaking in water," she says. "It was made incorrectly and has since been removed."

This is just the latest problem Whole Foods, which has a reputation for upscale, pricey, natural food, has had to contend with this summer.

After being accused of consistently overpricing some food products in its New York City stores earlier this summer, the company's co-CEOs issued an apology. And last week, Whole Foods' stock tanked more than 10% after a disappointing third-quarter earnings report.

Follow Hadley Malcolm on Twitter @hadleypdxdc.