MORROW, Ga. (AP) - Piccadilly Cafeterias, Inc. has recalled a brand of turnip greens sold at some of its 132 restaurants after a customer at a Georgia outlet bit into greens containing rat body parts.
A county health department inspection of the Morrow restaurant following the Sept. 1 incident did not find any rodents in the building or mishandling of the product, the chain's regional manager, Clint Celestin, said Tuesday.
It was determined that the rat parts came into the restaurant frozen with the turnip greens, which were supplied by a vendor, Celestin said. However, a spokeswoman for the county health department, Sheryl Taylor, said her agency's investigation was inconclusive as to the source of the contamination, though she added that the restaurant was issued a violation notice.
The chain, which uses turnip greens from several different vendors, has voluntarily recalled turnip greens at its restaurants that were supplied by the vendor in question. Celestin did not know exactly how many restaurants were affected by the recall.
``We had all that product removed from all of our stores that day,'' he said. ``Anything that was opened was thrown away. Anything that was unopened in the freezer was picked up by our supplier and sent back to the vendor.''
The customer who found the rat body parts in his food, Collis L. Warren, a 40-year-old truck driver, said he was halfway through his meal when he discovered what happened. He said he may have inadvertently eaten some of the rat.
``I said to myself, 'That looks like hair or fur,''' Warren recalled. ``When I raked the greens off of it, that's when it looked more revealing to me. I called the waitress over to look at it. She said it looks like a mouse to her. I said that's what it looked like to me.''
Warren's lawyer, Bobby Aniekwu, said his client is planning a lawsuit.
``Piccadilly has not done anything that shows us this will not continue in the future,'' Aniekwu said. ``They have spent more time trying to pass the buck onto their suppliers.''
A county health department inspection of the Morrow restaurant following the Sept. 1 incident did not find any rodents in the building or mishandling of the product, the chain's regional manager, Clint Celestin, said Tuesday.
It was determined that the rat parts came into the restaurant frozen with the turnip greens, which were supplied by a vendor, Celestin said. However, a spokeswoman for the county health department, Sheryl Taylor, said her agency's investigation was inconclusive as to the source of the contamination, though she added that the restaurant was issued a violation notice.
The chain, which uses turnip greens from several different vendors, has voluntarily recalled turnip greens at its restaurants that were supplied by the vendor in question. Celestin did not know exactly how many restaurants were affected by the recall.
``We had all that product removed from all of our stores that day,'' he said. ``Anything that was opened was thrown away. Anything that was unopened in the freezer was picked up by our supplier and sent back to the vendor.''
The customer who found the rat body parts in his food, Collis L. Warren, a 40-year-old truck driver, said he was halfway through his meal when he discovered what happened. He said he may have inadvertently eaten some of the rat.
``I said to myself, 'That looks like hair or fur,''' Warren recalled. ``When I raked the greens off of it, that's when it looked more revealing to me. I called the waitress over to look at it. She said it looks like a mouse to her. I said that's what it looked like to me.''
Warren's lawyer, Bobby Aniekwu, said his client is planning a lawsuit.
``Piccadilly has not done anything that shows us this will not continue in the future,'' Aniekwu said. ``They have spent more time trying to pass the buck onto their suppliers.''
