Florida Mom Sues After Seeing Worms Moving In Her Kids SpaghettiOs
Mary Hubbard bought a can of SpaghettiOs at Walmart, made it for herself and her daughter, and started eating. That's when she says she noticed something in the food that shouldn't have been there — worm-like organisms moving in the pasta.
She grabbed her phone and filmed it.
The federal lawsuit she's filed claims the can was contaminated with parasites or worm-like organisms and that both she and her daughter got sick as a result. Hubbard says she developed gastrointestinal illness and sepsis with long-term complications. Her daughter suffered nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain. The suit names both The Campbell's Company and Walmart and is seeking at least $75,000 in damages.
Campbell's says the claims are "without merit" and they plan to fight them. Walmart says it's reviewing the complaint.
How Does Something Like This End Up in a Sealed Can?
Canned food is supposed to be sterilized. The whole point of the canning process is that the contents get heat-treated inside a sealed container to kill bacteria, parasites, and anything else that shouldn't be there. So how does contamination allegedly slip through?
A few ways. If contaminated ingredients made it into the production line before sealing, the heat treatment would typically kill any organisms — but remnants could still be visible. A more concerning scenario involves a compromised seal — a damaged can, a faulty lid, or something that went wrong during shipping or storage that allowed contamination in after sterilization. A can that arrives dented, swollen, or with a damaged rim has potentially already been breached.
The lawsuit uses the word "adulterated" — a specific federal food safety term meaning the product contained something it shouldn't, whether the failure happened at the factory, in distribution, or on the store shelf.
The Footage
The fact that Hubbard filmed what she says she saw inside the can is potentially significant for her case. In food contamination lawsuits, the plaintiff has to demonstrate the contamination was in the product as purchased — not something that occurred afterward. Video footage of the contents of a freshly opened can is the kind of evidence that's hard to argue away. Campbell's and Walmart will almost certainly challenge it — questioning the circumstances under which it was recorded and what exactly it shows. But if it captures what Hubbard describes, that's meaningful.
Why Food Lawsuits Are Getting More Serious
This case lands in the middle of a wave of consumer food litigation producing significant verdicts. Earlier in 2026, a California jury awarded $25 million to a man who claimed butter-flavored cooking spray permanently damaged his lungs after the manufacturer allegedly failed to warn about inhalation risks. A Texas lawsuit filed in April went after an energy drink company following a teenager's death, raising questions about marketing to young consumers.
What attorneys who handle these cases have noted is that juries are increasingly less forgiving of large food companies — especially when evidence exists, when children are involved, and when the corporate response is a flat denial.
This case has footage. It involves a child. And the defendant is one of the most iconic food brands in American history. SpaghettiOs have been on grocery shelves since 1965. A contamination lawsuit with video is not the legacy moment Campbell's was hoping for.
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