Costco Customers Are Losing Their Lunch Over A Tooth Allegedly Being Found In Spring Rolls
Updated 2/22/2024 with confirmation that the tooth crown was the consumer's own; it was not in the packaged product.
Costco is beloved for its selection of ready-to-eat snacks, but some shoppers are taking pause after a Reddit user initially claimed to find the crown of a tooth in a package of Bibigo vegetable spring rolls purchased from the big-box store. The post, which has since been deleted (and updated with clarification to the contrary in the comments), was made on February 21 by a user who claimed their father made the disgusting discovery. "He was eating the [spring] rolls from Costco when he bit on something hard and it pinched the inside of his cheek," the original poster (O.P.) wrote. Further inspection reportedly revealed that the object was the crown of a tooth.
While the O.P. at first denied that the crown belonged to their father, several people claiming backgrounds in dentistry had their doubts when viewing attached pictures of the tooth. "This looks like a partial crown for one of his lower molars, in which case it wouldn't be completely obvious that he was missing a part of it," said one alleged dental student. "I've worked in dentistry for about 12 years and you'd be surprised how many people lose crowns and don't realize it," another commenter wrote.
Several even condemned the O.P. for potentially slandering the Bibigo brand. "That's a legit Korean brand and their products are very high quality," one comment read. "This is almost certainly your dad's crown," said another, adding, "Don't damage the reputation of the company for no reason."
Commenters were split on where the tooth came from
While many naysayers contributed to the Reddit thread, others suggested it was plausible that the crown came from the spring rolls. One user claiming to be a dentist appeared to identify the materials used to make and cement the crown. They suggested the substances were commonly used in dentistry in Vietnam, where Bibigo has had a manufacturing facility since 2019.
Several users, however, doubted that the crown would make it past manufacturers' extensive safety and quality protocols. While the use of metal detectors has significantly cut down on instances of foreign objects appearing in food, accidents still happen. Upwards of 477,000 pounds of food were recalled and destroyed in 2022 as a result of found foreign objects, as reported by CBS News. To this effect, one commenter on the Reddit thread claimed to have had a similar experience, finding half of a tooth in their Costco-bought tamales years prior.
Several folks suggested that the O.P.'s father should see a dentist to confirm the crown didn't come from his own mouth. The O.P. responded, saying their father intended to schedule a dentist appointment the following day and that they would post an update afterward. Since that time, Mashed has received confirmation from the company that distributes Bibigo vegetable spring rolls in the U.S. that the crown was indeed the father's own tooth and not a part of the packaged product. In fact, user lindasaurus-rex — seemingly O.P. — commented on the same thread hours after first posting, "The dentist confirmed it is his crown."