Needles Reported Found in Rice-A-Roni Boxes

Six sewing needles were found in Rice-A-Roni boxes opened by a woman who lives near Whittier, deputies said Monday.

Sandra Welchel said she found four of the 1 3/8-inch-long needles in a casserole she made from two boxes of the rice mix. Detectives investigating her claim said they found two more needles in one of the boxes she had opened.

No needles were found in four other unopened packages the woman had purchased. Rebecca Parrish, manager of the Ralphs supermarket in La Mirada where Welchel said she bought the product, said all packages of chicken Rice-A-Roni from the same batch--stamped with the number B032591B--have been removed from the store’s shelves. Representatives of Ralphs and the Golden Grain Co., a San Leandro-based firm that processes Rice-A-Roni, said they considered the find an isolated incident.