Canned food is touted by many to be superior to fresh produce because it's packed immediately, sealing in freshness. A woman in Utah certainly got a dose of freshness after finding a severed snake head in a can of green beans.
Troy Walker was with other women and young people in a Mormon church on Wednesday in Farmington, Utah, preparing a meal for the older folks in their congregation when she spotted something suspicious as she was taking out beans from a slow cooker.
"It looked pretty much like a burnt bean, and then as I got closer to lift it off the spoon, I saw eyes. That's when I just dropped it and screamed," she said.
According to Christi Smith, one of the women cooking with Walker, the head was clearly from a very small snake that had been cut up. After Walker's discovery, they threw out other pots of string beans cooking without looking inside.
Once the fuss died down (the kids really did want to see the snake head up close), Walker took the empty can of green beans and the snake head back to the grocery store where it was bought from. She also documented the discovery, taking a picture of the snake head and sending it to Western Family, the brand on the can.
Western Family, a food distribution company based in Oregon, was quick to respond, saying that it is taking the matter seriously, and has gotten in touch with its supplier to determine how the snake head found its way into the can of green beans and how many cans were produced from the same batch.
According to Sharon McFadden, Western Family's vice president for quality control, remaining shipments of cans from the same batch have been halted. They are also working to locate others that have already been distributed and taking them off of store shelves.
Walker is understandably traumatized by her discovery, too queasy to eat anything the next day, but she said she's not bad. She is hopeful, however, that no other snake parts have found their way into canned green beans.
With a family dinner set for the weekend, she did need to make it clear that green beans will not be served.
