A horrified customer of a hot pot restaurant wound up going hungry after discovering a giant dead rat among the cooked food.

The customer, whose identity was not revealed, had reportedly ordered a lamb takeout from the Jin Wuye Lamb Restaurant in Yancheng, in China’s eastern Jiangsu Province.

Nauseating phone footage shows the takeout box placed on a table, with a few leftover bones beside it.

The person recording the video used chopsticks to poke around what appeared to be a foreign object, only to reveal it seconds later as being half of a dead rat with visible whiskers and teeth sticking out from its head.

The video quickly spread on social media, with many users expressing disgust and some saying it turned them away from ordering food for good.

Following the online backlash, the Market Supervision Bureau of Sheyang County published a statement, saying: “On 11th December, 2023, our bureau received a complaint from a citizen, stating that there was a suspected rodent in the hot pot from ‘Jin Wuye Lamb Restaurant,’ which was purchased through a food delivery platform.

“Upon receiving the complaint, our bureau immediately organised law enforcement officers to investigate the matter and initiated a legal investigation into the accused business.

“Currently, the business has suspended operations for rectification, and its online store has been taken offline from the food delivery platform.

“Our bureau is tracing the origin of the food materials.”

The bureau added that food safety is of the utmost importance and will ensure such incidents are prevented in the future.