It is the kind of discovery no shopper expects to make.
Tiffany Grazier bought a jar of Mezzetta golden pepperoncini pickled peppers at her local Albertsons in Phoenix, Arizona, intending to use them in a pot roast.
However, after she began preparing the meal and licked her fingers, Grazier realized something was seriously wrong with the jar. Floating among the peppers was what appeared to be a pickled mouse.
“There’s a dead baby mouse!” she exclaimed in a TikTok video, holding the jar toward the camera before reacting with visible disgust.
A week after the video was posted on September 18, Mezzetta issued an urgent recall for its golden Greek Pepperoncini medium heat pickled peppers. The company described the issue as a “potential pest contaminant.”
In a press release, a company spokesperson said: “We’re aware of a video circulating on social media showing a potential pest contaminant in a jar [of the product].
“We have contacted the consumer and have moved quickly to investigate the situation and initiate a voluntary recall.”
The recall covers all 32-fluid-ounce jars of the pickled peppers marked with lot number 720106, which appears near the barcode.
The image above appears to show a dead, pickled mouse inside a jar of Mezzetta golden pepperoncini pickled peppers.
Consumers have been advised not to eat the affected peppers and to return the jars to the store immediately for a full refund.
No illnesses or injuries associated with the recalled product had been reported at the time.
Mezzetta did not provide additional information about the number of jars involved, the locations where they were sold or the product’s best-before date.
The company also did not identify the stores that carried the affected jars. However, store websites show that the golden pickled peppers are sold nationwide by retailers including Walmart, Target and Kroger.
The TikTok video has since attracted more than 220,000 views, with viewers responding with a mixture of shock and disgust.
One person wrote: “Could you imagine eating these in a dark kitchen and not knowing?” Another commented: “The way I just giggled and then started crying because I have the same ones in my fridge.”
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A third viewer added: “Fun fact: People are eating from jars that came from the same mouse batch but don’t know it because you ended up with the mouse.”
A Mezzetta spokesperson said: “For generations, families have trusted Mezzetta products on their tables.
The image above appears to show a pickled baby mouse inside the jar.
This image shows the Mezzetta product recalled over a “potential pest contaminant.”
Shown above is a stock image of pickled foods displayed in a grocery store.
‘We take that trust seriously, which is why we wanted to share what we know about a voluntary recall… and the actions we are taking.’
They added: ‘We have requested to retrieve and examine the product involved in the original consumer report and are reviewing the relevant production, sanitation and food-safety records as part of our ongoing investigation.
‘We immediately took action to identify where the product was distributed and worked with affected customers to isolate and remove it from sale.
‘As our investigation continues, we’ll take other appropriate steps as needed.’
It is not clear how a rodent may have been added to the peppers, but this may happen if one is present in a factory and then falls into the production line. It can also be added during harvesting if it is on the pepper plants.
Pickled peppers are a popular pantry staple in the US and are regularly added as toppings to salads, sandwiches and pizzas for their sweet and tangy taste.
Mice that end up in foods can mix fur and dirt into them.
They may also add potentially dangerous bacteria including E.coli and listeria, which can trigger life-threatening complications such as sepsis.
The salty and acidic conditions in brine water kill off the vast majority of bacteria, but some – such as E.coli – may be able to survive the conditions and then trigger an infection if the contaminated food is consumed by an individual.
There is no evidence that the pickled peppers in the recall are contaminated with bacteria.