A Florida mother is suing Campbell’s and Walmart after claiming she found what appeared to be moving worms or parasites inside a can of SpaghettiOs that she says she shared with her young daughter.
Mary Hubbard and Gregory Lovell, the child’s father, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
According to the complaint, Hubbard bought a can of Campbell’s SpaghettiOs in June 2024 from a Walmart Supercenter in Okeechobee, Florida.
Hubbard says she opened the can and served the food to herself and her daughter. But after they had already eaten some of it, she allegedly noticed something horrifying in the food.
The lawsuit claims Hubbard saw what “appeared to be worms and/or parasites moving in the food.” The complaint also says the contents “clearly depict worm-like organisms moving within the food product.”
Hubbard claims she preserved physical evidence and recorded video showing the alleged wormlike organisms in the SpaghettiOs.
The lawsuit alleges the contamination had serious health consequences.
Hubbard says she suffered severe and permanent injuries, including a parasitic infection and gastroenteritis, and claims she is still receiving medical care.
Her daughter, whose age was not listed in the complaint, allegedly suffered abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and a parasitic infection that required prescription medication.
The lawsuit accuses Campbell’s and Walmart of failing to properly inspect, process and distribute the canned food. It also alleges the companies failed to maintain adequate safety measures to prevent possible parasitic contamination during manufacturing or while the product was on store shelves.
Hubbard and Lovell are seeking $75,000 in damages. They claim the companies were negligent and violated federal food safety law.
Walmart responded in a statement to NBC News, saying customer safety is a top priority.
“The health and safety of our customers is a top priority,” Walmart said. “We are reviewing the complaint and will respond appropriately to the court.”
Campbell’s denied the allegations and said it plans to fight the lawsuit.
“We do not comment on pending litigation, but we believe the claims to be without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend against these allegations,” Campbell said in a statement.
The lawsuit comes after a separate food safety alert earlier this year involving several soup and bowl products.
In April 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a public health alert for various soup and bowl products because of possible foreign material contamination.
Four Campbell’s soups were included in that alert. Officials said the products may have contained foreign material, specifically wood and an FDA-regulated ingredient, cilantro.
That alert was separate from Hubbard’s lawsuit involving SpaghettiOs.
Sounds like a scam… they were canned boiling hot… looking for another sympathetic corrupt Democrat judge…
I don’t buy it. Nothing would survive the high temperature of the cooking and canning process. Even if worms WERE present, the would merely be additional meat protein by the time the can was opened. Besides, who eats SpaghettiOs without reheating to a boil first??? I hope the plaintiffs get everything that they deserve and their slip-and-fall lawyers, too!