I’m a pretty adventurous eater, so I’ll try almost anything once. Unusual combinations? Sure! Extremely spicy dishes? Pass them my way! But I have to say, I do draw the line at finding plastic, hair or creepy-crawlies in my dinner…

Bored Panda has scoured the internet to find photos of the most surprising and disturbing things people have discovered in their food and beverages. I would not recommend viewing this list while you’re eating lunch, as some images may send your appetite running. But enjoy scrolling through these unexpected pics, and keep reading to find a conversation with Neil Bradley, Chef, Founder and CEO of Kitchen Operating System!

#1 Box Lunch From Sandwich Shop Comes With Picture Of A Cookie, Rather Than An Actual Cookie

Image credits: GeezusKreist

Most of us consider food to be a source of joy, so it’s easy to forget how dangerous it can be. But understanding food safety is crucial, especially when working in a restaurant or store. To learn more about this topic, we got in touch with Neil Bradley, Chef, Founder and CEO of Kitchen Operating System. Neil was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and explain just how important food safety is.

“As a chef and restaurateur, I’ve seen firsthand the lengths restaurants and food businesses go to ensure food safety,” he shared. “Let’s be honest—poisoning your customers is not a great business model! Beyond the immediate health risks of foodborne illnesses, such as Salmonella or E. coli, there’s also the damage to trust and reputation, which can be devastating for any business.”

#2 Found This Block Of Cheese In My Cheeto Puffs Today

Image credits: Tyler-Orlando

#3 Found A Pearl In A Restaurant Manila Clam

Image credits: nomadquail

Neil says food safety is about much more than just preventing catastrophe— it’s also about respect. “Respect for the ingredients, the people preparing the food, and most importantly, the customers who put their trust in you,” he explained. “When corners are cut, it not only risks health but also undermines the integrity of the entire industry.”

So what are some of the most common mistakes that people make when it comes to preparing food safely? “One of the most common mistakes I’ve seen, especially in home cooking, is not cooking high-risk foods properly—something that’s particularly relevant this time of year with turkeys and hams,” Neil shared. “In professional kitchens, we have thermometers at hand to ensure precise cooking. But at home, many people rely on guesswork, which can be risky.”

#4 This Avocado I Got From A Farmers Market In Hawaii

Image credits: Metricmaestro

#5 2 Minutes After I Bought My Breakfast And Left It Outside

Image credits: Snagod

“Cross-contamination is another big issue,” the expert noted. “In restaurants, we use a system of colour coded chopping boards (and sometimes knives) assigned to different food types—raw, cooked, fish, vegetables, etc.—to minimize risks. Home cooks, on the other hand, might only have one or two boards, which can lead to contamination if not cleaned properly between uses.”

“On a larger scale, I’ve also seen businesses stumble on paperwork,” Neil noted. “Publicly available hygiene ratings are a great step forward, but they aren’t always reliable. I’ve known exceptionally clean and hygienic food businesses that have lost marks due to misunderstood or misapplied regulations, especially around documentation. On the flip side, there are businesses that score higher than they probably should simply because their paperwork is immaculate.”

#6 Orange Had A Very Small Orange Inside It

Image credits: MrPenisWhistle

#7 My Sister Found This Tiny Egg Inside Her Hard Boiled Egg

Image credits: galafem

So what should customers do if they find something unexpected, or even dangerous, in their food? “Foreign objects in food are rare but can happen,” Neil told Bored Panda. “Restaurant kitchens are busy, chaotic places, and despite everyone’s best efforts, mistakes do occasionally slip through.”

“It could be a piece of a plastic container, the end of a rubber spatula, or something similar. I still vividly recall a kitchen I worked in where the end of a spatula broke off into a risotto that was served to the Michelin-starred chef-owner,” he revealed. “Fortunately, he took it well, figuring it was better it happened to him than an actual customer!”

#8 This Tomato My Aunt Grew From Seeds Apparently Began Growing Strawberries Inside Itself

Image credits: Lil_Brow_Wow

#9 My Sister Bought Some Strawberries From A Very Large Grocery Chain In BC Canada. Comes With A Live Prize Inside!

Image credits: muttonwar

Neil says that, if you do find something unexpected, the first step is to remain calm and let the restaurant know. “A good restaurant will apologize profusely, investigate immediately, and make it right—whether that’s a replacement dish, a free meal, or a round of drinks,” he shared. “Most chefs and restaurant teams take incidents like this very seriously because they care deeply about their food and their customers.”

“That said, if something dangerous or more severe happens, like a shard of glass or a sharp object, it’s important to document it, keep the item, and potentially report it to your local food safety authority,” the expert added. “It’s extremely rare, but these incidents can pose serious risks and need to be addressed properly.”

#10 Shout Out To The Baker Missing Their Nail. Worst Part Is I Chewed On It Twice Thinking It Was A Clove Of Garlic Because It’s A Garlic And Rosemary Sourdough Before I Made The Horrific Realisation It Was A Fingernail

Image credits: Alicee-

#11 My Brother Found A Tiny Crab In This Mussel He Was About To Eat

Image credits: emocelerystick

Neil actually said that glass is effectively banned in commercial kitchens, and for good reason. “Glass breakages can contaminate everything in the area, and the risks far outweigh the convenience,” he explained. “Professional kitchens usually rely on stainless steel, silicone, or plastic for food prep and storage.”

“At the end of the day, accidents happen, but most restaurants will go above and beyond to fix them because customer trust is everything in this industry,” Neil says. “Also, a word of advice: don’t try to ‘set up’ a foreign object in your food to score a free meal. Trust me, we know when it’s been staged, and it’s not worth the embarrassment.”

#12 Found A Nose Ring In My Taco Bell Today

Image credits: TheeSqueebles

#13 Lost My Appetite. Found This Spider In My Ham Today

Image credits: Beneficial-Village10

Neil also says that food safety isn’t just about rules and regulations—it’s about culture. “It’s about creating an environment where safety isn’t seen as a burden but as part of delivering the best possible experience,” he noted. “That’s something I’ve always tried to instill in my kitchens, and it’s a mindset we’re bringing to Kitchen OS.”

“At home, food safety often gets overlooked, but small changes can make a big difference,” the expert continued. “Using a meat thermometer, being mindful of cross-contamination, and properly storing food can go a long way. For businesses, leveraging technology like we do at Kitchen OS—Bluetooth sensors, cloud-based monitoring, and automated systems—can make compliance easier and more reliable.”

#14 Did Some Maintenance At A Supermarket. They Showed Me A Return They Got Today

Image credits: reddit.com

#15 I Found 1€ In My Doner Kebab

Image credits: Alexander_04_

“At the end of the day, food safety is about trust, and as a chef, that trust is something I’ve always taken personally,” Neil added. “Whether it’s a restaurant meal or a home-cooked dinner, everyone deserves food that’s safe and prepared with care.”

#16 This Salt Crystal On My Cookie

Image credits: InternationalRuin4

#17 Idk What To Expect From McDonald’s Now

Image credits: Optimal_Highlight154

We hope you’re enjoying these photos of unexpected finds in food, pandas. Keep upvoting the ones that you find particularly shocking, and let us know in the comments if you’ve ever discovered something that wasn’t supposed to be there in your food. Then, if you’d like to check out even more photos like this, we’ve got another Bored Panda list on the same topic right here!

#18 I Found A Tiny Starfish On A Thawed Scallop

Image credits: peanutbuttercooki

#19 This Apples Flesh Is The Same Colour As Its Skin

Image credits: KirasStar

#20 Brother Left The Cap Off Overnight Where He Slept. Found Four New Sources Of Protein (Roaches) In His Juice This Morning

Image credits: StnMtn_

#21 Coworker Found A Surprise At The Bottom Of Their Cup This Morning

Image credits: MedicMac89

#22 This (Unopened) Bottle Of Apple Juice Came With An Extra Cap

Image credits: LallaBean

#23 Paper Towel Inside New Cheeto Bag

Image credits: -Bana

#24 This Slice Of Bread With The Best By Date Printed On It

Image credits: 25quebec

#25 Boyfriend Found A Harpoon Inside A Tuna He Filleted

Image credits: Happydaaissyyy

#26 Found The Tag To A Mop In Chicken Served At My College’s Cafeteria

Image credits: Eric_-0

#27 Found A Sticker In My McDonald’s Cheeseburger Today

Image credits: Actual-Addendum-6217

#28 Dominos With A Little Roach

Image credits: 426jkb31

#29 Cut My Garlic Bulb In Half To Find A Completely Translucent Orange Clove. No Idea Why

Image credits: hermit_tortoise

#30 So My Friend Ordered A Pizza, Got This

Image credits: mynamesjohndoe1

#31 My Bag Of Chips Came With An Entire Potato

Image credits: Brain-cold

#32 Army Of Ants Ate These Lollipops Starting From The Inside Of The Stick!

Image credits: _fuentes

#33 Went To Go Take A Sip Of My Tea

Image credits: GucciCode

#34 Bugs Appeared In My Rice. Never Opened

Image credits: Ultimate-Meow

#35 Marks & Spider? Found This In An M&S Sandwich

Image credits: WoodenConsequence882

#36 No More Chocolate For Me

Heard scuffling inside my lindor truffles bag. Well now I have mice and no chocolate.

Image credits: hellokittygurlll

#37 The Bay Leaf Inside My Pâté Was Actually Plastic With A Leaf Pattern Printed On It

Image credits: jazzfunkslapbass

#38 My Yellow Pepper Came With A Green Pepper Inside

Image credits: boomer_wife

#39 I Cut And Apple In Half This Morning And Found The Seeds Had Started Sprouting Inside The Apple

Image credits: RyanTellsaStory

#40 There’s A Mushroom Growing Inside My Potato

Image credits: welsiekade

#41 Found The Logo Stamp In This Dozen Of Eggs At The Grocery Store

Image credits: KeyFlavor

#42 Found A Tiny Spoon Inside My Bag Of Chips

Image credits: SuicidalLettuce

#43 Just Finished My Coffee. I Have To Say This Is A First! I Actually Feel More Bad For The Little Guy Than I Am Grossed Out (Somehow)

Image credits: NothingButBricks

#44 Found A Bolt In My Seafood Soup

Image credits: willkoman

#45 The Egg I Cracked For Breakfast Has An Almost Fully Developed Chick In It

Image credits: sweetwargasm

#46 Left My Wine Glass Outside Overnight And Found Hundreds Of Bugs In It Today

Image credits: cheese_puff_diva

#47 This Bug Just Plopped Out Of My Chipotle Salad As I Was Mixing It

Image credits: thatonedudericky

#48 Coffee Dispenser Gave Me A Coffee Full Of Ants

Image credits: TrashAtEvrything

#49 Different Coloured Peppers Growing Inside Big Pepper

Image credits: Sweet-Meet-4510

#50 Thanks Trader Joes

Image credits: anithale

#51 Found A Needle In My Milk This Morning

Image credits: Successful-Theme8965

#52 Cricket I Found While Cutting The Buns At Work!

Image credits: BrieL1807

#53 She’s Beautiful But Also Ma’am I’m Gonna Have To Ask You To Leave

Image credits: riibrego

#54 No Caramel For My Ice Cream I Guess

Image credits: _The_Horny_Unicorn_

#55 I Just Wanted A Sweet Tea After Work

Image credits: John-Dose

#56 Found In My Mcdonald’s Drink

Image credits: DamagedGoods3

#57 I Found This Blue Disc In A Packet Of Sour Cream Crisps. Its Has The Words “Ferrous 25mm Bst, Cert Number 213026b” On It

Image credits: scary2020

#58 Tried A New Restaurant Via Delivery. Received A ‘Bonus’ Ingredient

I took my a bite from my chicken sandwich and found this in my mouth.
Luckily I did not bite into it or chew it.
Yes, that is an artificial fingernail.

Image credits: RabidWeaselFreddy

#59 I Got A Tiny Grape Inside My Grape (Oc)

Image credits: Dragoness42

#60 Found A Bee (?) Inside One Of My Raspberries Today

Image credits: fighterpilot248

#61 Found A Super Black Cheerio In My Cereal This Morning

Image credits: mxgester

#62 My Impossible Vegetarian Nugget Had A Piece Of Wood In It

Image credits: DBrianSanders

#63 Bit Into A Prize Hidden In The Pita I Got From Pappas Greek Truck For Lunch

Image credits: bokin8

#64 Papa John’s Left Their Oven Pan In My Pizza Box

Image credits: Irish_King_Boru

#65 Found An Unknown Piece Of Red Square Candy Implanted In My Circus Peanut

Image credits: Momentum_Mori

#66 What A Special Treat As I’m Finishing Up My Coffee This Morning!

Image credits: nothanks_00

#67 There Is A Small Shell In My Sea Salt Grinder

Image credits: TurbulentNarwhal

#68 There Was A Sticker In My Fruit Bar

Image credits: chicagorpgnorth

#69 Found A Chunk Of Honey In My Honeycombs

Image credits: ashitbutts

#70 Was Rather Excited For Lunch Until

Image credits: ZaclimbHawk

#71 My Cheesy Gordita Crunch Had Some Extra Kick To It

Image credits: am_the_gorch

#72 Chick Fil A Horror Story

Image credits: Ok-Source-3313

#73 Found Bugs In My Brocolli When I Was Eating At The School Cafeteria

Image credits: Batch5

#74 Found Some Extra Proteins In My Nesquik

Image credits: NotRed_0

#75 Fly Laid Eggs In Nieces Lunch

Image credits: bitterefrucht

#76 I Dumped The Mac And Cheese Into Boiling Water And This Piece Of Wood Came Out Of The Box Too

There’s a piece-of-wood-in-a-box joke here somewhere

Image credits: reddit.com

#77 Found This In My Meal Deal Sandwich Just Now

Cheers Boots, love a side of sharp plastic with my duck wrap.

Image credits: MMLFC16

#78 Bought A Bag Of Flaming Hot Snacks And Found This Monster Inside Of The Bag Instead

Didn’t even have any of the actual Taki shaped pieces in it either lol

Image credits: virtual_hero_91

#79 Egg Inside An Egg

When to open this egg and found a smaller softer one inside.

Image credits: jilivee

#80 I Peeled My Onion And There Was Another Onion Inside

Image credits: StarPlatinum_SP

#81 Bolt Sealed Inside New And Unopened Pack Of Mini Wieners

Image credits: SuperCrispCurrency

#82 Excited To Cook This Salmon When I Noticed This Lovely Worm Inside The Sealed Package

Image credits: Rivet4891

#83 My Moose Sausage Had A Bullet Piece In It

Image credits: migrainecoffee

#84 Fingernail Found In Buccees Beef Jerky

Image credits: seemeri

#85 Guess Who Found A Worm In Their Can Of Peaches After They Already Ate Most Of The Can?

Image credits: DontDrinkAcetone

#86 I Forgot To Ask For No Metal In My Pregnant Wife’s Salad

Image credits: clakins1

#87 This Honey I Bought Has A Dead Bee In It

Image credits: smm_h

#88 Who Doesn’t Love Some Extra Protein In Their Pizza?

Image credits: reddit.com

#89 Found What Seems To Be An Animal Tooth Inside My Snacks Bag

Image credits: rarrle

#90 My Honey Stick Had A Bee Leg In It

Image credits: suruhburuh

#91 This Packaged Waffle I Got Had Spider Webs In It

Image credits: urmummygaaaay

#92 Saw A Weird-Looking “Chicken Piece” And Took A Closer Look

Image credits: MakrosOnFireAgain

#93 Found A Shard In A Bought Cake, I Bet That Could Have Got Very Bad If I Swallowed That

Image credits: AndrewF45

#94 So My Brother Found A Dead Lizard In His Campus Dining Hall Salad Today

Image credits: GaintoFame

#95 Found This In My Corn I Just Ate Half Of

Image credits: Pijaschy

#96 Was Emptying My Espresso Machine After Drinking. Saw This

Image credits: RedFoxBlackCat

#97 Needle Found Inside A Slice Of Bread

Important to note I didn’t find it rather my dad did. He was gonna make toast or something and before he put it in the toaster he realized that there was something inside the slice of bread. Towards the bottom left of the slice you can see a dark spot, that spot is actually burnt and is where the needle was taken out of. He hadn’t toasted it or anything so the burnt spot was already there.
Couldn’t have been any of us as outside me and my parents, my siblings are very young and don’t have access to needles or anything.

Image credits: Solidis262

#98 I Found An Ant In This Pastry After Having Eaten Most Of It

Image credits: CreatureMoine

#99 My Mcdonalds Burger Had A Bug Baked Into The Bun

Image credits: stf29

#100 Cooking Tuna Filets. After Eating One, Found A Worm In My Second

Image credits: BuckBacon

#101 I Felt Something Hard While Eating

Image credits: tinjau

#102 My Grandma’s Chickens Had Laid Eggs That Have White Yolks

Image credits: BaronvonRensiem

#103 Chewed Up Bubblegum In Our Mcflurry

Image credits: xThunderSlugx