Rosario Monachino
500-Ibs of cooked pasta was dumped in the woods of New Jersey and finally, the mystery has been solved.
The Italian dish was found along the banks of the Iresick Brook of Old Bridge by a local resident who went for a walk.
It consisted of cold spaghetti, ziti and elbow macaroni – without any sauces.
The strange finding quickly went viral and many people were left baffled about where it came from.
But finally, there seems to be an explanation.
Find out more about the mysterious pasta case below…
The pasta was dry and uncooked at the time it had been dumped, however, it turned al dente due to the rain.
About two inches had fallen before it was all picked up on April 28.
Many people have taken to social media and speculated about how it ended up there.
One person joked: “It was pasta expiration date.”
Joining in, another added: “It was in tribute to a famous Italian chef who sadly pasta way.”
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“I hope they can unravioli this mystery – it’s pasta joke…,” a third commented.
Although it may seem amusing, dumping pasta by the river is actually an environmental issue.
Nina Jochnowitz, who uploaded the bizarre finding to Facebook, tells The Philadelphia Inquirer: “You might say, ‘Who cares about pasta?’ But pasta has a pH level that will impact the water stream.
“The water stream is important to clean up because it feeds into the town’s water supply… it was one of the fastest clean-ups I’ve ever seen here.”
After some detective work, there finally seems to be an answer to the mystery.
Local residents believe the pasta comes from a nearby home that has been put up for sale after the owner sadly passed away.
Allegedly, the son of the deceased property owner was cleaning the home – including the pantry – and came across a ton of expired food.
Neighbour Keith Rost tells NBC News: “I mean, I really feel like he was just trying to clear out his parents’ house and they were probably stocked up from Covid.”
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It’s believed he may have taken the pasta out of its packages and discarded them by the stream.
The town’s mayor, Owen Henry, has since asked locals to not dump their unwanted goods by the river.
He tells NBC: “Old Bridge is very rural so we do have people who go out and illegally dump so much material in isolated areas, so we’re constantly going out there and cleaning up.”
Henry adds that it ‘makes no sense’ and is unfortunate, as lots of stuff can be taken to recycling centres.
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