Elizabeth Doney Havre Daily News edoney@havredailynews.com
Jack Hines, 66, a former laborer/contractor who resides in Havre, got a sickening surprise when he reached for another handful of Lays K.C. Masterpiece barbecue potato chips Tuesday night. The next handful brought out a deepfried mouse. “I just about put it in my mouth,” Hines said. “I was sitting there watching TV in the dark and I grabbed for three fingers of potato chips and I grabbed a mouse. It shook me up a bit and I threw it over my head.” Hines said he immediately called Gary and Leo’s IGA, where he purchased the chips. They told me to call the 800 number on the back of the bag,” Hines said. “The lady that I talked to (from the 800 number) said they wanted the mouse and the bag of remaining chips that were left. They did ask me if I was feeling sick, and I said no I am not.” Hines reported that he ate about three-quarters of the 14 oz. Bag of barbecue potato chips, which was manufactured by Frito Lay at one of their processing plants in Utah, according to the chip bag. “It’s just a little bitty mouse but you could tell it was all cooked up just like a chip,” Hines said. “I looked the next morning and I could see maggots crawling around by them. That made me kind of sick.” Hines said that Frito Lay wants to determine whether the mouse went through their process or or not. “But all you have to do is look at it and you can tell it looks like it was deep fried.” Hines said. “It ain’t got no eyeballs or nothing on it. A lady from Lays called last night and will come to Havre on Sunday to pick up the bag and mouse. It will be kept froze while they are shipping it to where ever they are sending it. Hines is keeping the mouse and bagIn the freezer as requested. He is confident that the mouse did not come from his own house and crawl into the bag because he keeps his chips closed with a plastic clip. There was another chip bag closed with the described clip on a different brand of chips at Hines’ house when the photographer went to take photos of the mouse. “The Frito-Lay company didn’t say if I would get a refund for the bag of chips,” Hines said. “They said they would do a follow- up when they got the bag of chips, they would get ahold of me. I don’t know if they are gonna give me a bunch of chips or what. I don’t know if they contacted IGA or not.” “Hines indicated that it was a sealed bag,” Tracy Job, manager of Gary and Leo’s IGA said. “I did contact the area office and left a voice mail informing them of the incident. They have not contacted me yet, but I was out of the store yesterday.” Job said he agreed with the company’s decision to pick up the mouse and chips and take action on the incident. “I think something should be done about it I don’t know what they can do,” Hines said. Hines said that he did not call a doctor because although queasy, he did not feel ill. “I didn’t think there was any reason to call the doctor I probably should have, but I didn’t,” Hines said. “As far as barbecue chips, I will probably never buy them again, not Lays anyway. I can’t see how a mouse got through their inspection platform. I think I ought to be able to get something out of it.”
