'It was the yellow beak that gave it away': Pennsylvania woman finds dead bird in canned spinach

YORK, Pa. – When Cherie Lyons opened a can of Del Monte leaf spinach to accompany her dinner , she didn't expect to find a dead animal inside.

"It took me about two minutes to figure out what it was," the Chambersburg, Pennsylvania woman said. "It was the yellow beak that gave it away."

Lyons said she found a dead bird at the bottom of her canned veggies June 14 when she noticed the lump in her bowl upon pouring spinach from its container.

"I immediately felt like I was going to vomit," she said. "I was sick for the next whole day."

Lyons reached out to Del Monte through the company's consumer help line. She said she was upset by the way she was treated. She said the company offered a $10 check for her "troubles" and requested the bird be sent back.

"When I called the company, they acted like they didn't believe me," she said.

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Del Monte responded to a request for comment with a prepared statement. "Del Monte Foods is committed to providing high quality, safe and nutritious foods," a spokesperson wrote. "We are working with the consumer to gather more information and investigate the matter. We implement strict controls throughout our operations to ensure our products meet the highest levels of quality, safety, and purity."

Lyons said she's not sure whether she'll ship the bird to the company. She said she reached out to various attorneys, but none so far has been interested in taking the case.

"I'm not sure yet," she said. "I still might investigate the attorney thing."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration allows for certain levels of contamination in processed food. For canned or frozen spinach, the Food Defect Levels Handbook cites the following allowances:

• Average of 50 or more aphids, thrips and/or mites per 100 grams OR

• 2 or more 3 mm or longer larvae and/or larval fragments or spinach worms (caterpillars) whose aggregate length exceeds 12 mm are present in 24 pounds OR

• Leaf miners of any size average 8 or more per 100 grams or leaf miners 3 mm or longer average 4 or more per 100 grams

There is no mention of bird contamination in spinach – whole or in parts.

When she posted her photos of the contamination on the closed Facebook group "What's Going On In The Chambersburg, PA Area," she received a few comments from people who didn't believe her story.

"There's always going to be those types of people," she said. "I said to the one guy on Facebook that he was more than welcome to come to my house and hold it in his hands."

Another woman accused her of a scam attempt.

"What am I going to get out of this?" she asked. "My whole family was here and saw it. Those people make me mad, because for me it was traumatizing."

Lyons previously only ate green beans, spinach and fruit of the canned variety and never had issues before.

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"That's done for me," she said. "I don't even know if I'll eat fruit now."

More than anything, Lyons said just wanted people to be aware and was concerned that the company wouldn't inform customers.

"I can understand something small like a bug or a staple, but how do you miss a whole bird?" she asked. "I wouldn't have pursued it if they would have just dealt with it better."

Del Monte Foods, founded in 1886, is one of the largest food producers and distributors in the country. The company generates nearly $2 billion in annual sales.

Follow Carley Bonk on Twitter: @carls_marie.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: 'It was the yellow beak that gave it away': Pennsylvania woman finds dead bird in canned spinach