Inmate Sues Over Fingertip in Frozen Food

Jul 23, 12:04 AM (ET)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A California prison inmate has sued after finding a fingertip in his frozen dinner - and this time the food company is not crying fraud.

Pelican Bay State Prison inmate Felipe Rocha was eating dinner in March when he "chewed on a crunchy object" in his cornbread and discovered the fingertip, according to the lawsuit filed against GA Food Services Inc.

The Florida company wrote a letter of apology to the prison regarding the "foreign object" in the food, and acknowledged a worker "severed" the tip of a finger while cleaning machinery when the cornbread was produced last July.

"There's probably some substance to Mr. Rocha's claims," John Hale, chief operating officer of GA Food Services, told the Associated Press on Friday.

"We're red-faced about it. We're apologetic about it," he said.

Rocha's attorney said his client is a Buddhist - and a vegetarian. Rocha, who is serving time on a drug conviction, lost 15 pounds in six days because he could not eat and is still in counseling, his lawyer said.

In March, a Las Vegas woman claimed she bit into a fingertip in a bowl of chili at a Wendy's restaurant in San Jose. Wendy's officials insisted the digit had been planted, and the woman was charged last month with conspiracy to commit fraud and grand theft.