The Unexpected Pig Part That Could Be Hiding In Your Canned Beans (And Why You Shouldn't Worry About It)

Stories of weird, surprising, and downright unsettling things found in food and beverage cans are nothing new, and thanks to social media, they've become more commonplace. But it's one thing to discover that those gross chunks in prebiotic sodas are totally normal; it's quite another to learn the same about certain, er, noticeably shaped animal parts. TikTok user @autumngailk has been making waves since November 2025, when they posted a now-viral video titled "Why Beans Are No Longer My Favorite Food." The caption reads, "Is this a nipple in my beans," and the video shows what, yes, appears to be a literal pig nipple in a freshly opened can of beans. The video had amassed over 968.7k likes.

This discovery would certainly be a cause for concern if it were in a standard, unflavored can of beans. However, as shocking as the video may be, canned baked beans often include pork (which is listed in the ingredients). Nonetheless, many people are still surprised to find certain parts in their beans. A Reddit post from 2023 wrote, "My [charro] beans were flavored with a pork nipple," and featured a photo of what appears to be a strip of pork skin with a nipple on it. Going even further back, another post from 2018 titled "There's a nipple in my beans" showed a piece of pork belly with a prominent nipple being held up from a bean dish with a spoon.

If you're feeling a bit squeamish and thinking you'll never touch a can of beans again, the good news is that, in most cases, you don't need to worry. All examples of pig nipples found in canned beans appear to be those that are already supposed to have pork, such as canned pork and beans (like those used in stovetop calico bean recipes) and charro beans, which are often seasoned with bacon or another pork cut. In fact, you can find cuts of pork belly or bacon with the nipple still attached.

Those cans of plain black beans, lima beans, or pinto beans, though? They're not likely to contain any pig parts at all, though one could guess there's still some risk if they're processed in the same facilities and with the same equipment as cans of beans with pork. Think of it as those "processed in a facility with nuts" labels on other food products — the item you're holding isn't intended to contain anything other than what it says, but it still could contain traces of things it's packaged up near. Still, the likelihood of finding anything outside the ingredient list is low.

The good news is that, as uncomfortable as the sight of pig nipples may make some diners, there's nothing physically harmful about consuming this piggy part. First, they consist of fatty tissue and skin ducts, which are fine to eat when cooked. And while they may not be considered an odd but underrated pork cut like pig feet in today's times, pig nipples, or "udders," were featured as a delicacy in the "De Re Coquinaria of Apicius" — the earliest surviving cookbook from ancient Rome.

Modern chefs have also noted that if you're picking up pork belly cuts from certain butcher shops, there's a solid chance you'll get it with the nipples on. And hey, if you haven't been paying close attention to all of your bean dishes from a can, there's a chance you've eaten a pig nipple and not even noticed. Of course, it's unclear when the first canned pig nipple discovery was first shared with the world, or how many people find them and don't say anything about it at all. Social media posts sometimes have a way of making the occurrence appear more dramatic than it actually is. Regardless, if you don't like eating this part of the pig, you can always toss it aside.