Sabrina bit into a rodent skull and cut her gums while eating a bowl of cereal. The 100% natural, premium gourmet nutty cranberry maple granola she was trying to enjoy was purchased at a Hannaford in Maine and manufactured by Bakery on Main. Aside from selling the rodent skull, both Hannaford and Bakery on Main are handling the situation well.
Here’s how Sabrina tells the story:
So there I was….eating a bowl of Cranberry Granola cereal a couple nights ago when I chomp down on a hard mass. The cereal is rather chunky and nutty, like most granola is, so i figured it was just a shell of a nut that snuck in there….WRONG!!I proceeded to pull it out of my mouth only to find something that resembled a bone of sorts. I turned it over and discovered it had TEETH! A lot of them. Too
smallbig to be mouse teeth. I am thinking rat, chipmunk or squirrel!I started dry heaving immediately! I can’t believe this was happening. I think I am still in shock! Thank goodness I didn’t crack my back molar. I did cut a portion of my gum line…but nothing major. My jaw hurt for the rest of the night….and my stomach turned for the rest of the night and into the next day.
I cannot believe I was biting down on the head/jaw bone and teeth of a nasty rodent!
What do you do in a situation like this! I was not hurt…so I am not sure I even have a case. This is just so awful though! I am nauseous just thinking about it!The company is “Bakery on Main” natural gourment. The cereal was nutty cranberry maple granola. This is an organic company out of connecticut.
She later sent us this update:
Yesterday I brought the the bone and packaging to Hannaford ( the grocery store where i bought it). I was very polite and explained to them what happened. I didnt want to give the bone to anyone just yet…but they said as part of their “process” they needed the package and bone to seal up and send to headquarters. I was uneasy about it at first…but realized that everything was going to be properly documented. She doubled my money back.When i got home…I called “Bakery on Main” and spoke to them. They were very apologetic and offered me TONS of free cereal products…BUT….I declined. I think I will be very weary about eating cereal for quite a while and the thought of eating any at this point makes me nauseous. He then offered me a hannaford gift card. I said that was kind of him…and whatever he felt he should do is fine. I was very polite with him…it wasn’t his fault what happened. He said the farmers he gets grains from is what was most likely the issue. The scanning systems pick up metal and such, and bone is harder to find I guess. I told him I am fine aside from a cut on my gum line. Either way this is terribly disturbing. I chewed on remains of a rodent head!!! I told him that Hannaford will be contacting him as well. I asked if he wanted to see pictures..and emailed them to him.
So that is the action I have taken. I am still in shock by what i found. It is too bad…I really liked their products!
We can’t think anything that would make up for biting into a rodent skull, but the honesty and capability displayed by Hannaford and Bakery on Main does help make the situation slightly better. Tell us Consumerists, should they be doing anything else?
RELATED: Dancing Deer And The Metal Spear
More From Consumerist
-
Long-Running Mouse Infestation May Shut Down N.Y. Walmart
-
This Walmart Offers Really, Really Fresh Meat
-
Yosemite National Park Warns 1,700 Visitors They Might Have Gotten A Rodent-Borne Disease
-
A Rodent In Sheep’s Clothing? China Cracks Down On Crime Ring Selling Rat As Mutton
-
The Doctor Is In: The Real Life Implications Of The Burglars’ Injuries in ‘Home Alone’
Sue them for the cost of the rabies shot, and then $47 million just for pain and suffering. Find a dentist that will calculate potential dental damage over the next 10 years, cosmetic surgeries, etc. Get the lawyer of the woman who sued McDonalds for coffee burns to take your case. That ought to christen the Battleship nicely…
Oh and I would also post this on all the granola lover-type websites, blogs, community centers (fliers) and health food stores so their profits go rightfully right into the dumpster. And please call local health department where their production facility is located and get their rat-infested ass inspected.
@Grrrrrrrrr: And spineless consumers like you are why corporations bully us. “Oh, don’t worry, that consumer will be reasonable and we’ll get away with it..har har…cigar lights up”…
Yes she was reasonable and fair, goodie for her, her church approves, and more consumers get screwed because she doesn’t have a brain or a spine.
@JaneBadall:
You beat me to it!
I think that’s a little TOO organic for my tastes.
On the other hand, rodent skulls are a great source of calcium.
Not that this excuses it, but why are people totally cool with some bones in relation to their food (drumsticks, buffalo wings, bone-in fish, etc.) but the idea of “unintentional parts” freaks us out so much?
Yes, there is the fact that it’s (ordinarily vegetarian) granola and that this bone is obviously not “part of the eating experience” like the examples I mentioned.
Anyway, sounds like the OP is taking it pretty well and doing the right thing by letting the companies involved know. All things considered I’d be infinitely relieved that it was a (seemingly) clean, dry bone and not something a little, uh, fresher.
I am in no way blaming the victim, but it is SO easy to make your own granola. I haven’t bought granola in years, and after this post I’m not about to…
Just google “Alton Brown” and “granola recipe”
This is the type of story that needs to be made an example of with not only good customer service from the store and manufacturer, but also of the OP who was mature, reasonable, and handled the situation like an adult.
@iamlost26: Umm… read your own statement there. She did say it’s too small to be mouse.
@kumquat7: That recipe is sooooooo good. Yum!
Metinks that somebody has confused rats and mice.
Sorry about the typo on the size of the teeth. The skull had teeth much too big to be a mouse!
It was pretty nasty. Still haven’t had any cereal since. Blaaaaaahhh. Still turns my stomach!
I appreciate all the feedback!
Unfortunately, there’s not much that can be done beyond what the supermarket and manufacturer has already done. Stories like these are ultimately unavoidable with automated food production. Either we all need to start growing/killing our own food or just put up with it all until we have really advanced versions of that optical scanner/sorter LUV2CattleCall mentioned.
At least it seems that the bone was baked with the granola and therefore was sterilized. Too bad that the irrationality of trauma like this will prevent the person from enjoying granola again.
@angrychicken:
Except that, along with the rest of the food, it was utterly sterilized.
Unless there was a pathogen-based recall, nothing to be worried about.
@Consumer007:
There’s a difference between situations. If there was a half-processed mouse-head rotting in the bag of granola, it would be different – but this is just an errant bone. You can’t avoid these things. Nothing you can ever do will prevent 100% of foreign objects from entering the food supply.
Lawsuits over insignificant matters such as this won’t improve the food supply, and instead serve only to raise prices.
@Consumer007:
Oh, of course….since I’m not out there suing every corporation over every single unpleasant thing that annoys me, that makes me “spineless.”
So okay, go for it wise-guy…sue every company for a billion fucking dollars every time there’s the slightest pretense to do so and see if there are any companies left after they all have multi-million dollar payouts and end up going bankrupt. Yeah, that’s a good strategy.
You want it both ways…you want companies to make cheap product and sell it for a cheap price, but you also want million-dollar payouts for every whiner that gets a rock in their cereal or spills coffee in their own lap. I bet you whine your ass off about the price of health care, but you’d be the first in line to sue a doctor for $10 million over a broken fingernail.
Sorry pal, you can’t have it both ways. There was no physical harm done here, so I don’t think she deserves a handsome cash settlement.
Apologies for the language, but not for the sentiment.
eewww… yesh there is physical harm! She cut her gums, and who knows what kind of bacteria was on that rat skull. At the least, this is a case for emotional distress if I ever saw one.
What I want to know is…where is the rest of what that portion of mandible/teeth was attached to? Jaw bones and teeth don’t usually wander off on their own.
I want cereal so bad…but can’t bring myself to do it! I am seriously scarred for life I think! Hannaford sent me an apology letter. No letter from “Bakery on Main” yet.