Woman finds finger in chili

A California woman who wanted to sue the fast-food franchise Wendy's last week dropped her lawsuit Wednesday due to what her attorney calls "emotional distress." Anna Ayala was eating a bowl of chili at a San Jose Wendy's chain last month when she bit into a 1.5-inch-long manicured fingertip, according to investigators. Ayala's attorney has since announced that she plans to drop the lawsuit she had planned to take up against the fast-food chain. Last week it was revealed that Ayala has a history of filing numerous lawsuits in the past, including a former employer, General Motors, and another fast-food restaurant. After examining the finger, health officials determined that it had been cooked enough to rid itself of any diseases such as HIV. Health inspectors closed the restaurant the night of the incident and have since determined that all employees were in possession of all ten of their fingers at the time, according to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle. "To the best of our knowledge, all of our employees and the employees of our chili supplier have been checked out," said Kitty Munger, a Wendy's spokeswoman. According to Munger, Wendy's is working with an investigative firm to determine the owner of the finger, which is believed to be female. "Wendy's is offering a $50,000 reward for any information leading to the owner of the finger," Munger said. Wendy's has strict handwashing and health code practices, Munger said. Procedures are strict involving the handling of food and making sure no items become cross-contaminated. At the McDonald's on the AU campus, employees are expected to wash their hands at least once an hour. Employees are required to keep food at a proper temperature and to change their gloves often so as to not cross-contaminate food, according to the manager of AU's McDonald's, who asked not to be named. AU students who eat at Wendy's have mixed feelings about the quality of the fast food. Madi Joyce, a freshman in the School of Public Affairs, still eats at Wendy's but will not get its chili. "I think that those events are isolated incidents and mistakes like that aren't isolated to fast food," said Elizabeth Janeczko, a sophomore in SPA. "I really don't like fast food to begin with. ... I'm not a huge burgers-and-fries person anyway." Derek Heiss, a freshman in the School of International Service, said he will continue to eat at Wendy's because it "continues to be delicious." "It wasn't my bowl of chili and it wasn't my finger, so I really don't have a problem with the whole incident," Heiss said. According to Munger, Wendy's has lost business in the San Jose area since the incident. San Jose police say they're investigating a possible connection between the finger and the Nevada owner of several exotic animals who lost one of her fingers in a leopard attack on Feb. 23, although the finger's owner has yet to be identified.