Sharp piece of plastic in jar of baby food...

by DW
(USA)

I was feeding my 9 month old daughter a jar of baby food tonight (would rather not include brand name at this moment). When she was almost to the bottom of the jar I found a piece of thin clear plastic with a sharp edge in a bite of food.

I checked the spoon and it could not have come from that. It was in the jar of food. I mean she wasn't injured and I'm a big "what if" person. If she would have choked on that or got that stuck in her intestines or elsewhere it could have been horrible. I'm afraid to even use the same brand anymore.

What should I do? Any advice? It was about an inch to inch and a half long. I've kept the jar of food and the piece of plastic. Thanks.

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ANSWER for "Sharp piece of plastic in jar of baby food...":

DW (USA):

There isn't a whole lot you can do. Thankfully your daughter wasn't seriously injured. If she had been the information we are sharing with you would be much different. You won't get very far with any legal action if there are no documented injuries.

You might want to contact the company and report the incident. Although these types of issues are normally aberrations, it is always helpful to, at a minimum, contact the company to put them on notice. Maybe the plant in which the baby food was manufactured or packaged has a problem with quality control. You may not be the only one who reported the same type of occurrence.

Your contacting the company may have the effect of causing the manufacturer and packager to look a lot more closely at their plants, their management, and their employees.

You will have done a great service to other mothers who, but for your taking some affirmative action, might have suffered what your child did, or worse.

Since laws change frequently and across jurisdictions you should get a personalized case evaluation from an attorney licensed in your state (if you haven't already). Find an experienced local attorney to give you a FREE personalized case review here.


Best of luck,

Law Guy