Hong Kong food safety authorities have prosecuted a restaurant after a customer found a live baby rat inside a takeaway meal.
The meal was bought from Wa Jer Restaurant in Wah Sing Industrial Building on Wah Sing Street, Hong Kong, for HK$44 (US$5.60).
The customer had ordered a set meal containing satay beef rice noodles, a ham omelette and a drink. She reportedly found the baby rat covered in satay sauce and moving among the noodles when she opened the takeaway box.
She posted a video of the takeout box on social media, where it quickly spread online, triggering debate over how the animal ended up in the meal.
The customer kept the food and packaging intact and filed a complaint with Hong Kong’s Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.
A department spokesman said that the complaint was received on Monday while officials seized the food for testing. He added that inspectors found unsatisfactory hygiene conditions in parts of the restaurant and prosecuted the operator under the Food Business Regulation.
“Regarding the suspected discovery of a baby rat in takeaway food, the department is conducting an investigation covering various aspects including food preparation, packaging, storage, and delivery,” he said.
“At this stage, it is inappropriate to jump to conclusions as to when and how the baby rat got into the food based solely on online video clips or the finding of a suspected baby rat in the food.”
The department said it had asked the customer to provide more information and give a formal statement, but she declined. A Hong Kong media outlet also contacted her but she did not comment further.
The restaurant operator said that he was baffled by the incident and did not want to speculate on whether it was a prank.
He said that the restaurant had been operating for just over a year and had not received any previous complaints about rats or insects being found in takeaway meals.
The operator acknowledged that the restaurant was located in an industrial area where rodents had been spotted. He said that the premises underwent monthly deep cleaning and disinfection.
He added that he wanted to contact the customer directly to understand what had happened and would strengthen pest control measures.
