Child finds tip of sliced finger in Japanese noodles

TOKYO, Japan – A child who was tucking into noodles at a popular Japanese restaurant found some extra topping in the bowl – the tip of a sliced finger, a health official said Thursday.

A female customer complained to staff when her child made the gruesome finding at a ramen noodle outlet run by Kourakuen Holdings in the central Japanese city of Shizuoka last month.

It turned out to be a piece of “nail with thick skin,” according to Masashi Goto, a local official in charge of inspecting food hygiene.

“We were able to understand it was part of a finger,” he told AFP on the phone, adding that the tip was about one centimeter wide and 7-8 millimeters long.

The shop’s operator has submitted a letter of apology to the health office and vowed to ensure that a similar incident does not happen again, he said.

An official at Kourakuen Holdings, which operates a chain of ramen noodle restaurants in the country, said the incident occurred when a female kitchen worker accidentally cut her thumb while slicing a chunk of pork.

The company said it had apologized to the customer but added that what had slipped into the bowl was not a fingertip but only a “nail.”

Kourakuen operates more than 520 outlets in Japan.

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