Scary, Hairy Chocolate-Covered Cherry
food November 12th, 2007Blogger’s Note: I realize this makes the third post about food in four days. I’m sorry. It’s not my fault.
I blame my pal J.D. over at I Do Things. She’s the woman who throws entire pies away when she and her husband know they’ve had enough and shouldn’t eat anymore. Today, she sent me a note about the time her husband threw away a perfectly good box of chocolates he received as a gift just so he wouldn’t be tempted to eat it. Her note reminded me of the time I, too, had a box of chocolates destined for the trash.
I used to love Cella’s Chocolate Covered Cherries before I bought two boxes and sat down to plow through one of them. All comfy on the couch, TV remote in hand, I opened the box to see that one of them was sporting a full head of hair. I just about threw up.
You can click that picture to get a better look, but I wouldn’t recommend it. All you need to know is the little guy down front needs a box of Just for Men hair coloring and the one next to him isn’t much better off. The remaining others are in the early stages of decomposition, and thus have much less-developed hair follicles. But they’re on their way.
So irritated that I couldn’t enjoy my sweet chocolaty snacks that night, I drove back over to the store where I bought them and informed the clerk of my gag-inducing discovery and that I wanted a refund.
I opened the box to show her the funky confections. She freaked just like I did, then called her manager over to have a look. "Ewwww, look at this," she says.
The manager, strangely NOT horrified, says "Yeah, we got a letter about that on Friday."
"You got a letter? About the hair? On Friday?" I asked, on a Monday I might add.
"Yeah, they said there was some problem during manufacturing. Wanted us to pull them all off the shelves," she explains.
I ponder for a moment why a person would remember reading a warning about a science experiment being carried out in a box of chocolates, and then do nothing about it.
I didn’t have the patience or energy to ask her why they didn’t pull them by now, but I did stay long enough to get my money back and see that she removed them all from the shelves.
After a year-long moratorium on buying boxes of Cella’s, I recently resumed eating them. But I always give them a thorough once-over just to be sure none of them is wearing a wig. Hair is not a good look for them.
Stumble it!
November 13th, 2007 at 12:11 am
Ewww, that is gross. But I can’t say I’m not a little envious. That one chocolate is doing better than me on top!
November 13th, 2007 at 12:23 am
Jeff beat me to it: Ewwww!
In addition to the gross factor is what I call the Unexpected Wrongness Factor–like when you slice open a hamburger bun and find a bunch of mold inside. Gross and wrong and unexpected! I almost blinded my brother after slicing an apple in half to find it moldy on the inside. In my shock and horror I threw the knife across the room. Luckily he was young, and healed fairly quickly.
Ewwwww! I don’t know that I could go back to eating that brand of candy. At least you saw it before you just picked it up, eyes glued to the TV, and started munching. Can you imagine?
Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!
November 13th, 2007 at 12:24 am
Hee! I’m “anonymous.” I hit enter before choosing my identity as “Other.”
November 13th, 2007 at 1:09 am
Jeff and JD — Sorry to gross you out. I guess the rule is to inspect your food carefully. I once read another blog where a woman described in fascinating detail what you can find in a bunch of grapes. Listen to me when I tell you, you have to take them all off the little branches as soon as you buy them and wash them off. Do not look back in the bag. She says often you will find larvae. I was off grapes for a while after reading that.
November 13th, 2007 at 1:43 am
p.s. to JD — Hey, I thought I was the only one with a problem with knives. Wow, your brother was lucky. Oh, and now I don’t want to eat apples anymore. thanks.
November 13th, 2007 at 2:18 am
Hey! If fur was always a bad thing we wouldn’t have penicillin!
Truth be told, though, I’m with you. A chocolate with a hairpiece is just wrong!
November 13th, 2007 at 3:18 am
Hey Kathy, I too love Cella’s Chocolate Cherries, and I’ve mostly purchased them at the counter of the 7-11 I frequent. However, over the last several months I have not had any because I am dieting and eating right, avoiding such temptations such as a Cella’s. Now, you’ve totally killed that treat for me. It’s just as well because I have to fight temptation every time I’m at the counter with my coffee and newspaper in the morning on the way to work; but after reading this…eeeek. Let’s just say that you’ve performed a public service with this post. I won’t even look at them anymore. Thanks for the tip and for another amusing, yet gross, story. -Mike
November 13th, 2007 at 5:38 am
That piece of chocolate looked like it was doing a Friar Tuck imitation. Only a blogger would take the time to photography their spoiled desserts – angry on the one hand that they could not enjoy the treat – happy on the other hand to have some great material for a new post.
http://organizeddoodles.blogspot.com/
November 13th, 2007 at 6:09 am
I’ve heard it said that ANYTHING tastes good if it’s deep fried or dipped in chocolate.
I do believe your story has squashed that theory.
November 13th, 2007 at 11:06 am
@ Lee — What scares me is that I wonder what went wrong in the manufacturing process to cause this. I figure they just forgot to put preservatives in it. Which means everything we eat without them would turn into a wool hat if left to themselves.
@ Mr. Grudge — I’m so glad I could help. Just doing my job.
@ Rick — My discovery actually happened before I started blogging. So your theory that I took the picture for a post is wrong. It should worry you to know that I took the picture “just because.”
@ Kev — Sorry. Apparently I’m in the theory-squashing business. See above.
November 13th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
Okay, as I read my mouth dropped open. Then it opened wider and wider as my head came forward to question the screen.
The manager got a letter about that!? And did not heed the warning?!
I’m amazed that you gave Cello another chance. Myself, I hate cherries unless they are picked fresh. None of that marishino (sp?) crap or canned. Yuck.
So you will never catch me eating a chocolate covered cherry. But still. Furry cherries.
That is bogue, sister.
November 13th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
Yeuchhh. It’s like a dead mouse partially dipped in chocolate. You relly do have interesting food over there I must say, I really liked the food that looks like stuff post.
Irish food isn’t half as interesting. I got drunk and was talking to a potato there last week for an hour or so, and it bored me rigid so it did.
November 13th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
@ Cardiogirl — I was ticked at the manager because she didn’t even react weird to the fuzz or apologize for not pulling them off shelves. She probably should have lied to me that she knew anything about it.
I do love my Cella’s. I’m sure it was a freak thing. OK, hope it was a freak thing.
Terence — You kill me. I am STILL laughing about your “mad lad at the gym” post. I laugh every time I think of that guy. Outstanding post!
November 13th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Not pulling them off the shelves immediately is a big NO-NO!
By the way, I tagged you for an award. 🙂
November 13th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Bucky — Thanks for the tag! Really appreciate it. I’ll be picking out my badge and posting on it later today.
November 13th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
EEEEEEEEwwwwwwwww that is so GROSS!!
My dad has a famous story about eating a candy bar as a kid and only glancing down at it after he was 1/2 way done and seeing it crawling with maggots!!
gag!
November 13th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
Well, you should have reported the store – as well as that manager’s lax attirude !
They got a letter and didn’t do nothing about it – gross incompetance.
November 13th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
@ MSoS — You have just topped me on the gross scale. Maggots trump fur.
@ Jaffer — You’re right. I probably should have complained up the chain. And I’m so GOOD at complaining, don’t ya think?
November 14th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
You are much nicer than I would have been. I would have reported the store to the health department and to the company that made the chocolates. They were definitely endangering the public.
Oh yes, and GROSS!!
November 14th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Michael — Had the manager did her job (reacted to the notice), none of that would have happened. I hold her completely responsible.
The more I think about it, the more I’m glad they had hair. What if they had gone bad inside, but LOOKED ok on the ouside??? Then what? Oh, the possibilities.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:00 am
Hi! I can relate to that one. My wife and I were sharing a block of chocolate one night. As normal I was munching away on a big slab of chocolate while the wife examined her small piece before eating it. All of a sudden she let out a scream and declared there were weevils in the chocolate bar. It was too late for me. Apparently their high in protein anyway.
November 15th, 2007 at 10:03 am
Peter — Oh my. That’s disgusting. I think I might have to close commenting on this post. I’m increasingly grossed out by what others have been finding in their food. Serves me right for putting up that picture.
November 15th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
I love chocolate covered cherries. Once I waited to long to open a box and yes..it was gross. No hair but…nasty, nasty.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
Hi,Lisa — Are you still eating them? It took me a good long while before I could look one in the eye again.
November 19th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
lol. did you know that chocolate was banned in switzerland for many years. read this
December 24th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
[…] 2. Open Gifts Right Away – It may sound unreal, but I discovered that some of the presents I received from last year remained unopened for 365 days. It’s funny, but at the same time, I felt upset for being too lazy sorting them out. Some of the items could have been useful to me the past year. The gifts include: candies and chocolates, neckties, shirt, and other things. Some of them can be recycled as presents this season and could have saved me some bucks. Therefore, my advice for you is to not procrastinate: open the boxes and bags on Christmas Day and sort them out right away. Don’t let the chocolates grow some hair! […]
March 28th, 2008 at 11:15 am
[…] Go to the post! […]
May 17th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
thatr is disgusting
May 18th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Brooke — Indeed it is! I have returned to eating them, but I always check for hair first.
May 27th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Hi, Kathy~
Interestingly, I got a box of these chocolates recently and, being a reporter, called Cella’s. I mentioned your blog to the quality control chief. He said, “Do you believe everything you see on the Internet?”
Actually, no. But I do believe what I see in the box of chocolates.
May 27th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Deborah — Oh, geez. I guess they could always say the picture was doctored. But they definitely would have it on record that there was a problem with manufacturing during this time period. The woman at the store confirmed they received a letter to remove product from the shelves. Good for you for calling them. I hope they at least sent you a coupon for a free box of non-hairy Cella’s! Sorry you got one of these boxes. Real shocker, huh? Ew.
June 5th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
we learn that, that is a type of fungi that can be found on bread, soil, and other things