Ford

Grace Joyce Ford appeals judgments in favor of Miller Meat Company (Miller) and Alpha Beta Company (Alpha Beta) in a nonjury trial. Ford sought to recover damages for injuries sustained when she bit into a fragment of bone contained in ground beef purchased at an Alpha Beta supermarket.

We affirm. Our Supreme Court in Mexicali Rose v. Superior Court (1992) 1 Cal.4th 617 [ 4 Cal.Rptr.2d 145 , 822 P.2d 1292 ] articulated principles of liability in the context of a diner’s injuries caused by food served in a restaurant. Mexicali Rose expressly limited its holding “to commercial restaurant establishments” (id. at p. 619, fn. 1), where the patron plays no part in preparation of the food and thus has little, if any, opportunity to examine the ingredients for the presence of potentially harmful substances. We find Mexicali Rose’s reasoning of even greater force where there has been a retail sale of meat to a consumer who herself has prepared the injurious food.

Factual and Procedural Background

On January 30, 1989, Ford bought packaged ground beef from Alpha Beta, took it home and, while she was browning it for tacos, removed a small portion to taste. She bit down on…