Customer claims ‘woman’s fingertip’ inside chicken wrap; company says ‘no female staff’ at restaurant

A chicken wrap that was supposed to be appetising left a US woman “traumatised” as it reportedly contained a human fingertip – “nail included.” Mary Elizabeth Smith, 43, said the incident occurred on November 17, 2023, when she ordered from Create Astoria, a Mediterranean food joint in Queens, New York Post reported.

What happened?

Smith’s attorney asserted that his client bit into the wrap and found “human tissue, a fingertip” inside. “She ordered a chicken wrap, and when she bit into it, there was a piece of a finger there. Luckily, she didn’t swallow it. But it still traumatised her,” Menna told People.

Menna stated that his office sent the fingertip for testing, which confirmed it was human tissue belonging to a female.

‘Traumatised’

Speaking with the New York Post, Smith asserted that the incident has left her “permanently traumatised.”

“She bit into [the wrap], could tell something wasn’t right, and spit it out,” her lawyer said. “It was horrifying for her.”

Smith, a Corcoran real estate agent, said she had to undergo intensive antiretroviral therapy as a precaution after possible disease exposure.

“This has left me very cautious about anything that I am eating,” she told the Post. “It took me a really long time to work up the courage to eat chicken again. Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen.”

She said she rushed to a walk-in medical clinic right after the incident, carrying the fingertip with her. “I told the doctors I’d gladly pay them $75 to tell me that it was anything else,” the New York woman recalled.

Restaurant refutes claims

Create’s insurer, Liberty Mutual, rejected Smith’s allegations, according to Menna. He said he had provided photographs of the fingertip along with a forensic report confirming it belonged to a woman. The company, however, maintained that no female employees were working at the restaurant that day.

Smith disputed this, telling the Post she clearly remembered seeing women on duty at Create.

Create’s owner, Teddy Karagiannis, issued strong denials of the allegations in statements to both People and the Post.

“It’s impossible. It cannot happen in my style of operation,” Karagiannis said. “It’s just ludicrous.”

He insisted that dishes at his restaurant undergo several inspection points before reaching customers, making such an allegation implausible.

“You’d have a better chance of hitting the lotto twice in one day than someone [at Create] not noticing a piece of finger,” he told the Post.

Karagiannis further claimed that Smith had refused to permit DNA testing on the fingertip, which he argued would exonerate his staff. He also suggested Smith could have acquired the fingertip elsewhere.

The restaurateur branded the lawsuit “preposterous” and “fraudulent”, adding that he intends to countersue Smith for slander.