Woman Eating Chili Bites Into Human Finger

SAN JOSE, Calif. (March 23) - A woman's meal at a Wendy's restaurant brought a whole new meaning to the term "finger food." The woman bit into a portion of a human finger while eating a bowl of chili Tuesday night at the San Jose restaurant, Santa Clara County health officials said Wednesday.

The woman, who asked officials not to identify her, immediately spit out the finger and warned other diners to stop eating, witnesses said.

"Initially she did put this object in her mouth and did bite down on it and wasn't sure exactly what it was," Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Martin Fenstersheib said at a news conference. "She's doing OK. Initially she was a bit grossed out it was described to me, and vomited a number of times."

Fenstersheib said the finger had been cooked at a high enough temperature to kill any viruses.

Officials said the fingertip was approximately 1 3-8-inches long and a half-inch piece of fingernail was also found. They believe it belongs to a woman because of the long, manicured nail.

Health investigators seized all of the ingredients at the restaurant and are tracing them back to their manufacturer. They believe the finger got into the chili at an earlier stage.

"We have no evidence of any accident within the employees at the facility itself," said Ben Gale of the Santa Clara County Health Department. "We asked everybody to show us they have 10 fingers and everything is OK there."

The restaurant has had only one minor health violation stemming from a leaky vent, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

"Food safety is of utmost importance to us," Wendy's spokesman Joe Desmond said in a statement. "We are cooperating fully with the local police and health departments with their investigation. It's important not to jump to conclusions. Here at Wendy's we plan to do right by our customers."


03/23/05 22:35 EST

Personally I would have tried the knuckle sandwich.

You're telling me this isn't one of the usual ingrediants in their chili ??!?!?!

What about monkey fingers ???

ok so this whole incident is so incredibly disgusting but you just have to lol at this part of the article!

I always thought lady fingers were served as a dessert.

Just another reason not to eat meat!

I wonder who got the bowl of chili with all the blood in it! Sorry, but you know its in there somewhere . ugh, I gotta go

Whose finger is it? Why on earth would the company who supplied the stuff not halt production and at least try to find the finger and fishit out before sending it on? Wendy's has got a serious problem with it's supplier!

I'm just wondering how the lady missed seeing the finger on her spoon before biting it.

This is the exact reason why we need to regulate fingers. Fingers need to be registered, and every finger print needs to be entered into a national database. Finger safetys need to be placed on every hand. If fingers are outlawed, only outlaws will have fingers.

Yoss! You so funny!
I'm just glad that I rarely eat fast food. Ain't good for ya ,ya know.?
And apparently it ain't good for ya to work for the suppliers neither.

I had Wendy's chili last night and it was tasty as usual. It's only $0.99 and I plan to keep eating it when I get the craving.

Dave Thomas would have never let this happen.

How will you be able to stomach it after reading about this? Won't you think of bloody, dead fingers every time you eat it?

well the article states that it was 1 3/8 inch long so it was probably just the tip?
Wendy's bowl of chili is not that big, I'm wondering how the kitchen staff missed it when it was served up?

That's similar to a women in Ohio who found a finger in her salad at some fast food restaurant (i don't believe it was a national chain), and a women in Atlanta who found a chicken's foot in her whooper at Burger King. She said on tv that it made her become a vegetarian.

What's extremely puzzling to me, is that the plant where the Chili for Wendy's is mass produced, did not dump the suspected vats or whatever of chili after knowing there was a problem.

Unless the employee did not report it, but you think somebody would have noticed the blood trail after the finger was unexpectly extracted. Go figure!

Maybe I missing something!!

Hope everyone is having a great Easter weekend!

nearly 2 months later and this story is still making news!

Finger Traced to Woman Who Blamed Wendy's

Published: 5/13/05

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - The mysterious finger that a woman claimed to have found in a bowl of Wendy's chili came from an associate of her husband who lost the finger in an industrial accident, police said Friday.

"The jig is up. The puzzle pieces are beginning to fall into place, and the truth is being exposed," Police Chief Rob Davis said.

The discovery of the finger's owner marks a significant break in a case that has confounded authorities for nearly two months, ever since Anna Ayala claimed she bit down on the well-manicured, 1 1/2-inch finger in a mouthful of her steamy chili.

The case became the talk of the Internet and late-night talk shows and spawned numerous bizarre tips and theories about the source of the finger, including one about a woman whose fingertip was bitten off by a spotted leopard kept as a pet.

Authorities said last month that they believed the story was a hoax, and they arrested the 39-year-old Ayala at her home in Las Vegas and charged her with attempted grand larceny for allegedly trying to shake down Wendy's. But whose finger was in the chili remained a mystery.

The owner was traced through a tip made to a Wendy's hot line, Davis said. He said the man lost the finger in December, and authorities "positively confirmed that this subject was in fact the source of the fingertip." The nature of the industrial accident was not disclosed.

Davis said the Nevada man, whose name was not released, is cooperating. The police chief would not say if the man was in on the alleged hoax.

Investigators had initially believed the finger fragment was a woman's because the nail was well-trimmed.

Police believe the man gave the finger fragment to Ayala's husband, Jaime Plascencia, who was arrested this month on identity-theft charges unrelated to the Wendy's case.

During the investigation, Wendy's said no employees at the San Jose store had missing fingers, and no suppliers of Wendy's ingredients had reported any finger injuries. Authorities reported that there was no evidence the finger had been cooked, and also said Ayala had a history of filing claims against businesses.

Sgt. Nick Muyo said someone other than the man who lost the finger called in the tip to the hot line.

Calls to an attorney for Ayala and Plascencia were not immediately returned. Wendy's did not immediately return a call to its Dublin, Ohio, headquarters.

Authorities are considering additional charges against Ayala and her husband, Davis said. "We are exploring all other options and avenues available to see that those involved in this charade will be investigated," the police chief said.

Wendy's has offered a $100,000 reward and has said it has lost millions in sales since Ayala made the claim while visiting her family in San Jose. Dozens of employees at the company's Northern California franchises also have been laid off.

Wendy's has not yet given out the award. Company spokesman Bob Bertini said officials need to talk with police to determine who should receive it.

In a statement, the company praised San Jose police and said the latest evidence vindicates its employees.

"We strongly defended our brand and paid a severe price," said Tom Mueller, Wendy's president of North America. "We are extremely proud of our employees and franchisees who have suffered the most, and we are forever grateful to our many customers who have supported us during this difficult time."

The Nevada agency that investigates industrial accidents has no record of a worker injury like the one San Jose police described, said Tom Czehowski, chief administrator of the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Nevada employers are only required to report deaths or injuries causing the hospitalization of three or more employees, he said.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health was also checking its records for any workers who reported losing a finger in an industrial accident, spokesman Dean Fryer said.

The franchise where the finger claim was made saw an immediate 60 to 70 percent drop in business, said Stephen Jay, marketing director at JEM Management, which owns the restaurant. Business is still off 20 percent, he said.