HORRIFIED customers were left disgusted after the council found a deep-fried rat in their local kebab shop kitchen.
Health inspectors spotted what looked like a well-cooked rodent in September at Mexicano Food Box in Preston, Lancashire.
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Customers have eaten at the kebab joint for years without knowing the filth-riddled kitchen was overrun with cockroaches and crunchy vermin.
According to the kebab shop website, they offer “mouth-watering dishes and catering for all kinds of different tastes.”
The council’s food hygiene officer spotted one of these varied flavours and snapped a picture of the creature, which appeared to be squashed flat and incredibly crispy.
Mexicano Food Box was immediately given a rating of zero which is the bottom of the hygiene scale and is the worst level that can be handed out.
The rating means urgent improvement is necessary and the store owners were immediately slapped with a stern letter from the council.
The notice read: “The premises was in a poor state of cleanliness at the time of the inspection and a cockroach infestation was found without adequate control.
“Food was not protected from a risk of contamination.”
Owners of Mexicano Food Box agreed to voluntarily close the business to carry out a deep clean and put measures in place to control the cockroach infestation.
The letter continued: “Should similar conditions be found on any future inspections then formal action may be taken.”
During their inspection, the council discovered bread buns stored next to raw doner kebab meat which can lead to cross-contamination.
They also tested the fridge, containing dairy products, to the temperature was 5°C hotter than the legal maximum of eight.
Keeping food in environments warmer than their recommended temperature is risky as it can allow harmful bacteria to grow.
Germs appeared not to be a concern however with no soap found in the restaurant toilets.
Regardless of the cleanliness standards, Mexicano Food Box has received relatively good reviews, with a 4.2 star rating, according to their website.
Reviews even contained the words “excellent” and “great.”
However one customer took to the internet to complained they felt a bit dodgy after they ordered a takeaway.
They wrote: “Won’t be ordering again, I ordered the chicken noodles with sweet chilli sauce and a couple of hours later I was being sick and having bowel movement, to put it politely.”
A Preston City Council spokesperson said: “Where things go wrong, inspectors can detain and seize food, equipment, records, and in the worse cases require a business to stop using a particular ingredient, process or premises.
“Food law provides a minimum standard for businesses to maintain. Where businesses fail to maintain those hygiene standards, formal action will be taken where the proprietor does not cooperate fully. “
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