Trader Joe’s Faces Lawsuit After Customer Claims She Swallowed Fingertip in Juice

Lisa Chang, Asia Pacific Correspondent
2 Min Read
⏱️ 2 min read

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A Portland resident has initiated legal proceedings against Trader Joe’s, alleging that she unknowingly ingested a piece of a fingertip while consuming orange juice purchased from one of the supermarket’s stores. Julee O’Neil has filed a lawsuit seeking $10,000, claiming that her discovery of a rubber fingertip in the beverage has left her both physically and emotionally distressed.

Shocking Discovery in a Juice Bottle

On June 19, 2025, O’Neil purchased a 52-ounce bottle of Trader Joe’s orange juice from a location in the Hollywood neighbourhood of Portland. While drinking the juice, she noticed what she initially thought was a sizable piece of pulp. Upon closer inspection, she was horrified to find it was actually part of a rubber glove.

In her lawsuit, O’Neil expressed her concern that the severed fingertip of a human hand could have been mixed into the juice she had been consuming. “She was and is concerned that the human hand that was in the tip of the glove was also severed and was part of the pulp she had been periodically drinking,” the lawsuit states.

O’Neil reported experiencing severe discomfort, including gagging and a burning sensation in her mouth, leading her to seek medical attention at a nearby clinic. More than a month before filing her lawsuit, she reached out to Trader Joe’s with a request for a $10,000 settlement, but claims the company failed to respond.

This lawsuit comes on the heels of another legal challenge faced by Trader Joe’s. The grocer recently agreed to a significant $7.4 million settlement over allegations that it printed excessive information from customers’ debit and credit cards on point-of-sale receipts. According to court documents, this breach affected 757,663 unique card numbers, which violates the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA). Under this law, retailers are only permitted to display

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Lisa Chang is an Asia Pacific correspondent based in London, covering the region's political and economic developments with particular focus on China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese, she previously spent five years reporting from Hong Kong for the South China Morning Post. She holds a Master's in Asian Studies from SOAS.
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