FINGER POINTS TO AYALA

Wendy's restaurant chain has solved the mystery of the finger allegedly found in a bowl of chille. According to a report from the BBC the finger belonged to a family friend of Anna Ayala, the woman whose claims and lawsuit against the food outlet have cost it millions of dollars in lost sales, resulting in the laying off of staff members.

Ms Ayala claimed she had bitten down on the finger which she described as "kind of hard, crunchy". She said the incident had caused her "great emotional distress". She has since withdrawn her lawsuit. The fast food chain has insisted all along that the finger did not originate at one of its establishments as no staff had lost a digit and no suppliers had reported any hand accidents.

The IPKat observes that franchises are always more vulnerable to this sort of thing, since the brand name is ubiquitous and a slander on the reputation of just one of its licensees can rub off on all of them.

Edible fingers here , here and here
Inedible finger here