A Fort Pierce woman says a supposedly simple canned dinner turned into a horror show when she opened a can of SpaghettiOs that she claims was crawling with worms or parasites, leaving her seriously ill. Her federal lawsuit, filed this week in Fort Pierce, seeks at least $75,000 in damages.
According to the complaint, Mary Hubbard bought the canned pasta at a Walmart in Okeechobee County and spotted moving organisms inside the product. The suit names Campbell's and Walmart as defendants and accuses them of negligence and violating a federal food-safety law. Campbell's declined to comment on pending litigation and Walmart did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Reuters reported.
What the Complaint Alleges
The filing states that Hubbard discovered the contamination on June 6, 2024 and later developed gastrointestinal illness and sepsis after consuming the SpaghettiOs. Another person identified in the lawsuit reported nausea and vomiting. The complaint seeks at least $75,000 in damages and notes that the case, filed in Fort Pierce federal court, has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, according to Reuters.
Past Safety Alerts and Brand Background
SpaghettiOs, the spoonable, O-shaped pasta introduced in 1965, is one of Campbell's longest-running brands. Its history and product details are chronicled on Wikipedia. Regulators have previously flagged safety concerns tied to ingredients used in some Campbell's products. In April 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a public-health alert after cilantro used in certain soups was found to contain foreign material, a notice that is archived on the FSIS site.
Regulatory And Consumer Tips
FSIS public-health alerts typically advise consumers not to eat products suspected of contamination, to keep packaging and receipts, and to report any related illnesses to local health authorities. Anyone who feels sick after eating a questionable item is urged to seek medical care and tell their clinician exactly what they consumed. The April 2025 alert is a reminder that ingredient problems can ripple across multiple branded products in a supply chain, according to FSIS.
Legal Outlook
Civil food-safety lawsuits often hinge on whether a plaintiff can prove a specific product caused an injury and that a manufacturer or retailer failed to prevent contamination. The sides typically argue over causation and the extent of damages during discovery and pretrial motions. Many of these cases resolve through settlement rather than going all the way to trial, so for now this Fort Pierce lawsuit will work its way through the federal court process and whatever schedule the judge sets.
