Snakehead Sneaks into Philadelphia Man's Green Beans

PHILADELPHIA, PA - It is normal to find a snake in your green bean patch in the summertime, but how about a snakehead in your green beans at dinner? This gross discovery is what Earl Hartman from South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was surprised with Wednesday, June 13, 2007.

"I'll never eat green beans again, I'll tell you that," Hartman told WCAU TV, ""When I sat down, I noticed something didn't look right. It didn't look like a green bean."

Indeed, it was not a green bean, but a snakehead that came out of the can that he purchased from the Pathmark grocery store. After contacting the store Thursday he received a call back from Seneca Foods located in upstate New York. They told him that sometimes these things happen and that the sorting machinery that they use during the canning process probably removed the rest of the snake.

The Associated Press said that they were not able to get anyone from the Seneca Foods Corp. to comment on the incident. The Pathmark store has removed the rest of the similar cans of green beans from their shelf as a safeguard.

Incidents like this have occurred in the past many times with various foreign objects. In 1994 CNN reported that a woman found a fingertip in her salad in a restaurant. More recently, in May of 2007, The West Virginia Record brought to light a story about a man who found a condom in his iced tea at a Shoney's in West Virginia. So what is a person to do who finds an unacceptable object in their food?

According to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, there are several different entities inside of the government who are in charge of handling such cases. If the problem occurs with a meat, poultry, or egg product you should call the USDA Meat and Poultry hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854). If you are like Earl Hartman and find something unsavory in a non-meat food product that you have bought from the store, then you need to contact your local FDA (Food and Drug Administration) which can be found in your phone directory. Lastly, if the tainted food in question was served to you at a restaurant, you will need to contact your local or state health department.

Always be sure to have as much information as you can get (UPC codes, wrappers, receipts) and any portion of the food that you have left when reporting to the appropriate agency. Most importantly, if you have been injured or are ill, get immediate medical attention.

Earl Hartman told WCAU-TV that he does not intend on suing Seneca Foods Corp. and that "I want people to know and to be aware what may be in your food before you eat it. Just check it out."

SOURCES:

"Snakehead Found In Green Beans Can" WCAU-TV URL: (http://www.nbc10.com/news/13507626/detail.html?rss=phi&psp=news)

"Man Says He Found Snake Head in Beans" AP URL: (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/ODD_SNAKE_HEAD_IN_BEANS?SITE=PASCR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT)

"Woman discovers fingertip in salad" AP and CNN URL: (http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Midwest/03/05/offbeat.fingertip.food.ap/)

Cara Bailey, "Man finds condom in glass of iced tea at Shoney's." The West Virginia Record URL: (http://www.wvrecord.com/news/195251-man-finds-condom-in-glass-of-iced-tea-at-shoneys)

"Problems With Food Products" USDA FSIS URL: (http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FSIS_Recalls/Problems_With_Food_Products/index.asp)