"Hold the finger": Wendy’s ‘Chili Finger Lady’ legend explored as brand reportedly set to launch its famed chili in grocery stores

As Wendy’s Chili starts to make its way to grocery stores, a 'chilling' past seems to have come up for the spicy chili fans in the country. It was in 2005 that fans came across unbelievably shocking news about their favorite fast food restaurant chain; the San Jose-based franchise of the fast food chain was alleged to have served human fingers in their popular chili.

While the allegations were later dismissed and the fast food chain came out clean, they could not come out unscathed. The fake allegations not only had customers thinking twice about visiting a Wendy's restaurant, but also resulted in a loss of over $21 million in lost business to the fast food restaurant chain.

chili may soon be available in grocery stores across the country (Image via Wendy’s)

Though the broken trust between customers and Wendy’s may have healed a long time ago, the recent announcement of the chain's canned chili seems to have dig up some of those wounds. Commenting on an announcement post of the canned chili, a user @jasongallego wrote:

comment by the user @jasongallego

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Wendy’s Chili is safe and comes to grocery stores this year

For those who may still be confused, Wendy’s chili is pretty safe and is a popular item among fans all across the country. An ideal accompaniment for winters, the spicy chili is packed with the goodness of meat and beans that heat up your body even on a chill, freezing day.

As per reports by the Instagram account @snackolator, the news about Wendy’s Chili coming to stores this year was announced by Conagra Brands recently at the 2023 Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) Conference.

While the fast food chain has not hinted at an official release date for canned chili, it has shared that all relevant details will be disclosed as the launch dates come close. Though this may only be a speculation, we’ll get to see it hitting grocery stores across the country in the coming months.

Details like pricing, store availability, and differences between store bought and canned chili have not been disclosed as of now, but we may soon get to learn it all as the fast food chain shares an official notification of the debut of the canned chili in stores across the country.

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Wendy’s 'Chili Finger Lady' legend was a well planned scam from 2005

Whether you find it shocking or straight up stupid, there's no way that you could have guessed it right after hearing the news. In 2005, a husband and wife planned a full-proof scheme to scam the fast food restaurant chain by falsely accusing them of serving chopped human fingers in their chili.

The results of the allegations not only resulted in bad media for the fast food chain, but it also had to go through several scrutinies and tests by the relevant security and law agencies.

the famed chili from Wendy’s (Image via Wendy's)

As investigations progressed, it was later discovered that the couple had it all planned and had placed a human finger in the chili themselves to claim monetary benefits from the fast food chain.

While Wendy's came out clean of the gruesome allegations, the couple were sentenced to prison to reflect upon their actions. Putting it into words, Wendy's chili never contained anything that should not have been there, and was only made with veggies, spices, beans, and certified animal meats.