One man noticed an issue with some cheese packets that he bought at H-E-B, posting to TikTok to let his fanbase know. Then the video reached 109,000 viewers, leading people to question H-E-B’s golden grocery store status.
Brandon Dawson, who runs the Tribe of Christians (@tribeofchristians) account, posted the video warning followers to look out for holes in their food packaging. That’s because Dawson noticed some of the spots in a package of cheese he bought from his local Kingwood H-E-B.
“Make sure you check your food thoroughly before you buy it or eat it,” Dawson said, while showing off the problematic, holey package.
“I always squeeze a bag that’s supposed to be sealed. If the air isn’t sealed in there I don’t buy it, but never thought about [pinholes] being a reason!!” One commenter said.
Dawson’s theory—true or not true?
Dawson said in his video that it’s possible that someone punctured holes in the packaging on purpose. He noted how the pinholes looked stabbed in—not by a machine—but possibly deliberately.
Yes, it’s possible that someone inadvertently or deliberately punctured the product, especially considering the fact that it’s happened at other retail stores. A Reddit post on r/foodsafety discussed a similar issue at a Walmart store, this time with packaged meat.
One keen commenter wrote, “Make sure you report that to customer service or a manager. The only way they can make it stop is if they know what’s going on… It is extremely likely that it is some sort of malfunction or error rather than someone maliciously doing something.”
While it may not be likely that someone deliberately punctured holes in the H-E-B food packaging, some commenters and even Dawson himself thought otherwise.
Toward the end of his video, Dawson claimed, “They could be poisoning your food.” It’s unknown who “they” refers to—the customers or H-E-B itself. He could be discussing either.
Another person said it’s possible someone injected something into the food product. “Call 9-1-1,” they recommended.
Others referred to the food as “poisoned” or “tampered with.”
What did he say?
Dawson further clarified that he didn’t think the mistake was accidental in the slightest. In a comment to The Mary Sue, he stated, “I purchased the cheese product on October 9 and discovered the suspected tampering the next day. I posted the video because the issue appeared widespread across several H-E-B locations in the Houston area, not just one store…All of the impacted products were H-E-B branded snack cheese sticks, and the pattern extended beyond the Kingwood location.”
When asked about his biggest worries, he added, “What concerned me most was the lack of urgency from store staff and management when I reported it. I also tried to contact Harris County and HPD but didn’t get a response. Because the issue seemed too widespread to be random, I started to believe it might involve intentional harm at the manufacturing level rather than a local store problem. While I can’t identify anyone responsible, the scale suggests it may not be accidental.”
Holes in packaging: Heb’s Fault, or a consumer?
Commenters seemed split about whether or not someone deliberately punctured the packaging, but they also seemed conflicted on whether H-E-B was to blame for the product issue. Some people claimed that customers deliberately punctured the food, not the Texas-based grocery store.
@tribeofchristians CHECK ALL YOUR FOOD!!! 10/10/25 @HEB Kingwood TX
♬ original sound – TribeofChristians
“Not HEB it’s the [people] sir [I] guarantee you. [You should] just get it replaced if you bought it, and yes always check your food,” one viewer said.
Others said that H-E-B “has gone downhill” in recent years, but thought that it was a machine and quality issue.
The Mary Sue has reached out to H-E-B through their website and Dawson via email for comment.
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