A group of San Marino police officers found a metal blade in their food order after picking it up from an Alhambra restaurant on Thursday, but the incident was believed to be accidental, officials said.
The blade was found inside a meal prepared by Baja Cali Fish & Tacos, officials said.
Members of the San Marino Police Department had phoned in a take-out order at the restaurant earlier in the day, according to Lt. Eddie Elizalde of the Alhambra Police Department. Unformed officers picked up the order and brought it back to the police station.
“While one of the officers was eating her food, a metal cutting blade, approximately 1.5 inches in length, was found,” the lieutenant said.
Alhambra police began investigating the incident as a possible case of food tampering, but soon determined there did not appear to be any malicious intent involved, officials said.
“After conducting interviews with the employees and a walk through inspection of the restaurant, it was learned the cutting blade found in the food order came from an industrial food chopper,” Elizalde said. “The cutting blade matched the other cutting blades and upon closer inspection, the food chopper was missing one blade. The food chopper is used to cut various foods and is done so with a slamming motion.”
Investigators concluded that the blade broke off from the chopper, fell into a batch of pico de gallo and ended up being served in the order, he said.
“At the conclusion of the investigation, Detectives determined this was an accidental and isolated incident,” Elizalde said. “The San Marino police officer did not sustain any injuries from the cutting blade. Baja Cali’s management and employees cooperated fully during the investigation.”
