Minnesota teen loses part of his bowel after unkowningly swallowing grill brush bristle

He bit off more than he could chew.

A Minnesota teen was forced to undergo emergency surgery after he reportedly swallowed a dislodged metal grill brush bristle buried in his burger.

Noah Walden unknowingly ate the bristle at a Memorial Day barbecue in Stillwater — and a week later it punctured his intestine.

“I had two burgers, and my guess is one of them had the grill bristle in it, and I swallowed it,” Walden told WCCO. 

Noah Walden of Minnesota. WCCO

At one point, he “got up” and “couldn’t lay back down,” which is when he told his parents he wanted to go to the emergency room.

“It was just so much pain,” he said.

The hospital had to remove part of his bowel, forcing doctors to make a six-inch incision on his abdomen, according to Noah’s mother, Amie Walden. 

“Get rid of your metal grill bristle brushes,” she pleaded with others.

Noah also advised people barbecuing to “do a lot of chewing when you’re grilling, especially if you have a wire grill brush.”

Over 13 million metal grill brushes were recalled in 2026 because customers accidentally swallowed them whole and required medical treatment — with 10.2 million of those taken off the shelves were due to specifically ingestion hazards, according to People.

A grill brush with a wooden handle and stiff wire bristles. WCCO

“There have been a limited number of reported injury incidents associated with these grill brushes,” Nexgrill, the company who triggered a recall for the 10.2 million grill brushes, said in a statement to People in March. 

“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.