Search Underway For Origin Of Fingertip Reported In Wendy's Chili

POSTED: 9:53 am EST March 25, 2005
UPDATED: 10:29 am EST March 25, 2005

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- A woman said she bit into a partial finger served in a bowl of chili at a Wendy's restaurant, leading authorities to a fingerprint database Thursday to determine who lost the digit.

This black and white photo, released by the Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health, shows a portion of a human finger that a woman says she found while eating a bowl of chili at Wendys Restaurant.

The incident Tuesday night at a San Jose, Calif., Wendy's restaurant left the unidentified customer ill and distraught, said Joy Alexiou, a spokeswoman for the Santa Clara County Health Department.

Employees at the Wendy's were checked and the fingertip didn't come from any of them, officials said, adding that the well-cooked finger may have come from a food processing plant that supplies the company.

Denny Lynch, a spokesman for Wendy's International Inc., based in Dublin, Ohio, said there have been no reports to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of injuries at any supplier of chili ingredients to Wendy's.

"All of our chili suppliers report no accidents," he said.

Health officials said the fingertip was approximately 1 1/2 inches long. They believe it belongs to a woman because of the long, manicured nail.

Investigators seized the remaining chili and closed the restaurant for a few hours.

Alexiou said the woman, who asked officials not to identify her, is at minimal risk of contracting illnesses from the finger because the chili was cooked.