Nope, I don't think that was ever a living thing, it looks like a bit of fiber to me, like from a sweater or jacket.

You do know, Shaun, that all prepackaged foods are allowed to have some percentage of "particulate matter"? LOL This would be some of it...

Annie

Looks like crystallized ginger or a shred of pineapple to me. -Grainlady

grainlady, you may be right on the crystallized ginger, although I've never seen any "shred" like that. Of course, I eat it pretty quickly without close examination, LOL, I love the stuff.

OK, Shaun, just taste it and tell us if it tastes like ginger, will you? (snicker)

Annie

It kinda looks like the discarded shell of an insect.... added protein.

Ooooooh no way! hahahaha! I did email the company and attached the picture of it. The owner was very apologetic and sent me free cookies. Then someone else from another department emailed me asking if I could send them the "thing" in a ziplock bag so they could analyze it and see what it was. So I mailed it to them.

I'm still waiting to see what they think it is but thought I'd ask you all too.

It was a lemon cookie so maybe it is a fiber of some sort but there was nothing else like it in the rest of the cookie.

It looks like a piece of cellulose, often used as 'inert matter', especially in diet foodstuffs.

I see four legs and two horns. ; )

Since it was a lemon cookie, could it be a clump of dried lemon rind?

I was going to say pineapple also, but let's hope it is a clump of grated lemon peel stuck together.

Teresa

No clue what that is, but I hope it's not HALF of whatever?

Oye you could have gone all day without saying that! hahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!

I'm guessing lemon zest, too, just a bigger chunk of it than normal.

Sally

Its.....Roger?

(you know, old dried and wrinkled)

darfc

I think it looks like a LAWSUIT! LOL
I got a jagged piece of glass in Mott's applesauce once. Traced it and sent it to them,(before digi cams) man ...their lawyer called me immediately....I wasn't going to sue them, but lots of people give their kids applesauce, and that coud have been very dangerous...
And I agree with Beverly, :)

Nothing good!

LOL I can see a little martian face on it. Do you see it? With tentacles and little horns...Also looks like a battered up bee. How did the first half of your cookie taste?

Kathlee! hahahahah!!!

Nah, no lawsuit. I wasn't hurt. Just grossed out.

It does kinda look like a bee, huh?

The cookie tasted great. No weird flavor at all. And I'm not sure why I looked down at it but I was watching tv and eating it and just happened to look at it and there were these hairy things sticking out of it so I went to pull the hair out and out came this "thing". I was still chewing........ so I spit out what was in my mouth and then crumbled up the rest of the cookie to see if there was something else in there that looked like the "thing" and there was nothing. I was thinking if it was part of a lemon rind or soething like that, that there'd be more in the cookie. Nope.

Anyway I just checked the Delivery Confirmation Ticket Number and it says: "Your item was delivered at 9:31 AM on October 9, 2008 in SHERMAN OAKS, CA 91423"

I hope to hear back soon that it was a normal "thing" in that cookie.

Gotta say, the company was very very nice about it. They were shocked because they said the cookies were made under the strictest sanitary conditions, bla bla bla ... etc., what else would they say? Oh yea we make em in a cave with dim lighting and dirty pots and utensils..... hahha!

Anyway - I'll let you know what I hear. Please lets just hope it's not a bug.

Jessy you made me laugh with the Roger comment! hahahahha!

It looks like a battered, deep-fried larva of something or other. Ick.

How's the diet going? Hey -- maybe it's a ploy to make you never want to eat again.

Gee, it resembles a bit of sweat shirt lint to me.

dedtired, I'm not really on a diet - I just eat these every now and then to maintain. You know, after the weekend of eating and drinking whatever, the following week I use the cookies for a couple of days to undo what I did over the weekend.

Oh wow, oh wow! I just don't know what to say. I'm sorry....? lol

I got a good laugh from some of these responses!
Please keep us informed as to what kind of critter it is, albeit, a very clean critter!

Hey Shaun, send me the exact address. I think I know where they're located and it's about 3 miles from my house! That way I can go and "check" them out!

I see a head, two front legs and a couple of tentacles! Ewwww! Be sure and post if they tell you what it is! My brother-in-law found a little wad of hair in Campbell's beef and barley soup years ago. He sent it in and they told him it was animal hair and gave him a case of free soup. Ick. By that time he had no appetite for it. But the worst thing I have to tell you is this:

My brother was a trucker for years. He delivered corn syrup to candy manufacturers. He said one day he was standing around waiting for them to unload his truck at the candy factory and happened to look down into one of the vats that was sitting nearby. It had maggots in the bottom of the vat. Some people came and started the process for mixing a batch of candy in that vat. He said, "Hey, wait! That vat has maggots in it!" And they said, "Don't worry, they'll cook out...."

ilene_in_neok I know! Why do these companies do that? You're grossed out by something in their product and they send you more FREE product?

Gotta say, I haven't eaten these cookies much since then. The other day I had one and was skeeving out the whole time, looking, examining each bite. I'll just probably throw these cookies away. I'm too grossed out.

I think the "thing" looks like it has little arms in front. Ewwwwwwww I can't even look at it.

Compumom you're so funny! I'll give you the address; sure!

Is it Roseanne Barr? :-)

Shaun, can you read us a list of the ingredients? It does look like candied ginger.

The ingredients don't look terrible, but not all that wonderful, either:

atmeal Ingredients: Enriched wheat flour (niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), rolled oats, vegetable margarine (palm oil, water, soybean oil, salt, natural flavor, soy lecithin, beta carotene [color], vitamin A palmitate), Hollywood Premier Protein Blend (soy protein isolate, whey protein concentrate [milk], wheat protein concentrate, whey powder [milk]), sugar, crystalline fructose, raisins, maltitol syrup, polydextrose, vegetable glycerin, egg whites, powdered cellulose, spices, mono- and diglycerides, natural flavors, baking soda, cream of tartar, soy lecithin, and sucralose (a sugarless sweetener).

Vitamin and calcium: (calcium carbonate, ascorbic acid [vitamin C], niacin [niacinamide], vitamin B6 [pyridoxine hydrochloride], riboflavin, thiamine [thiamine mononitrate], vitamin B12 [cyanocobalamin], vitamin A [palmitate], vitamin E, folic acid, vitamin D, pantothenic acid [d-calcium pantothenate], iron [naturally occurring]).

Lemon Ingredients: Enriched wheat flour (niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), vegetable margarine (palm oil, water, soybean oil, salt, natural flavor, soy lecithin, beta carotene [color], vitamin A palmitate). Hollywood Premier Protein Blend (soy protein isolate, whey protein concentrate [milk], wheat protein concentrate, whey powder [milk]), sugar, crystalline fructose, rolled barley, maltitol syrup, polydextrose, egg whites, powdered cellulose, vegetable glycerine, natural flavors, lemon zest, mono- and diglycerides, baking soda, citric acid, salt, soy lecithin, and sucralose (a sugarless sweetener).

Vitamin and calcium: (calcium carbonate, ascorbic acid [vitamin C], niacin [niacinamide], vitamin B6 [pyridoxine hydrochloride], riboflavin, thiamine [thiamine mononitrate], vitamin B12 [cyanocobalamin], vitamin A [palmitate], vitamin E, folic acid, vitamin D, pantothenic acid [d-calcium pantothenate], iron [naturally occurring]).

Chocolate Chip Ingredients: Enriched wheat flour (niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), semi-sweet chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla), vegetable margarine (palm oil, water, soybean oil, salt, natural flavor, soy lecithin, beta carotene [color], vitamin A palmitate), Hollywood Premier Protein Blend (soy protein isolate, whey protein concentrate [milk], wheat protein concentrate, whey powder [milk]), sugar, crystalline fructose, maltitol syrup, polydextrose, vegetable glycerine, egg whites, powdered cellulose, natural flavors, mono- and diglycerides, salt, baking soda, cream of tartar, soy lecithin, and sucralose (a sugarless sweetener).

Vitamin and calcium: (calcium carbonate, ascorbic acid [vitamin C], niacin [niacinamide], vitamin B6 [pyridoxine hydrochloride], riboflavin, thiamine [thiamine mononitrate], vitamin B12 [cyanocobalamin], vitamin A [palmitate], vitamin E, folic acid, vitamin D, pantothenic acid [d-calcium pantothenate], iron [naturally occurring]).

Allergen Information: Contains: Wheat, soy, milk, and eggs. Produced on equipment that is used to produce products that contain: Peanuts and tree nuts.

They're basically a lot of soy protein with a good amount of fiber. Each cookie is 150 calories, with 4 grams of fiber and only 8 grams of sugar. They seem pretty expensive to me.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hollywood Cookie

Hey ideefixe thanks for posting the ingredients.

They cost $19.99 a box which contains a 3 day supply.

$19.99 for three days worth of cookies?!!!!!!

Sally

Yes