A Minnesota teenager underwent emergency surgery after reportedly swallowing a metal grill brush bristle hidden inside a burger.
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Noah Walden had no idea anything was wrong as he enjoyed a burger during a Memorial Day barbecue in Stillwater.
However, a week later, the tiny metal bristle punctured his intestine, triggering a serious medical emergency.
Teen Injured After Swallowing Grill Bristle in Burger
During emergency surgery, doctors removed part of Walden's bowel after making a six-inch incision in his abdomen.
"I had two burgers, and my guess is one of them had the grill bristle in it, and I swallowed it," Walden told WCCO.
"It was just so much pain," he added.
As his condition worsened, Walden struggled to stand and found he could no longer lie down comfortably.
Realizing something was seriously wrong, he told his parents he wanted to go to the emergency room.
He spent four days in the hospital before doctors determined surgery was necessary.
Since the ordeal, Noah's mother, Amie Walden, has urged the public to "get rid of your metal grill bristle brushes."
Noah has also encouraged people to "do a lot of chewing" when eating at barbecues, particularly if wire grill brushes have been used.
Similar Incidents Have Prompted Product Recalls
Walden said he neither tasted nor felt the metal bristle while eating his burger.
It was only after he developed "a lot of painful stomach aches" that he realized something was seriously wrong.
Unfortunately, his case is not an isolated incident.
According to PEOPLE, more than 13 million metal grill brushes were recalled in 2026 after consumers accidentally swallowed loose bristles and required medical treatment.
Of those, approximately 10.2 million were recalled specifically because of ingestion hazards.
"There have been a limited number of reported injury incidents associated with these grill brushes," Nexgrill, the company that initiated the recall, said in a statement.
"Out of an abundance of caution, we made the proactive decision to voluntarily recall these brushes based on our leadership in the BBQ industry and their partnership with the Consumer Product Safety Commission."
