Soup fly a ‘disgusting’ discovery

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This article was published 03/02/2023 (817 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The can promised “the flavours you love and the quality you’ve come to expect”.

“We select the finest ingredients for our signature collection of delicious soups for a hearty and satisfying experience every time”, the can of Tim Hortons Chicken Noodle Soup goes on to promise.

But a satisfying experience is not the way Claude Caron would describe opening a can of soup only to find a large fly floating on the surface.

The Ste Anne man said he was recovering from a touch of the flu when he asked his wife to bring home a can of soup during a shopping trip to Steinbach on Jan. 20.

Finding a 4 for $10 deal at Walmart on the previously untried Tim Hortons brand seemed like a great deal.

And the first can was fine.

But when Caron opened up the second can last Wednesday, he said something looked strange.

“I put it in my cooking pan, I got my glasses and decided to investigate a little bit more, and I saw a black fly in there,” he said. “I found that disgusting.”

Caron initially called Walmart, who told him to bring all the cans back for a full refund.

But it was his attempts to contact Tim Hortons and his lack of success that prompted him to share his story. “These things should never happen,” he said.

The can itself had no contact number, and his searches online only led to a Facebook page where more people had complaints.

He also initially thought his can was part of a product recall issued in Fall 2022.

However, that recall was for Tim Hortons Chicken Noodle Soup Base, a product in 3.56 kg packages that was used to make soup in Tim Hortons restaurants. Sold only in Ontario and Alberta, it was recalled for the “presence of insects”.

“If you want to reach Tim Hortons directly you can’t,” he said. “You’ve got no phone number on the website.”

The Carillon reached out to Tim Hortons through their media relations email address and were told they couldn’t answer questions at this time. They declined to say where the soup was processed, how common it was to have insects in soup, what assurances they have that this wouldn’t happen again, or what they will do to investigate.

“We’re not able to investigate until we connect with the guest and can investigate further,” a one line statement read.

With permission, The Carillon supplied the contact information of the complainant to Tim Hortons but as of press time, they had not yet reached out.

Caron said he wanted to make people aware that this can happen.

“If we don’t say that to anyone and keep it hush, they’re just going to continue to put that kind of stuff in our food, and that’s not fair,” he said.

Caron said he’s looking for an apology.

He also hopes they’ll examine their processes to fix the problem and not just write it off as a single occurrence.

“It’s not okay,” he said. “It’s not okay at all.”

While he’s shared his story, he admits some of the advice hasn’t exactly appealed to him.

“Some people told me to just throw the fly away and eat the soup,” he said with a chuckle. “But that’s even more disgusting.”

While he has been off soup since, Caron didn’t go hungry the day he spotted the fly. He said after saving the soup as evidence, he instead indulged in a roast beef sandwich.