That rat looks amazingly well-fed.

Hey, they're in the food, they might as well be allowed to stay there.

Zing!

I wonder how likely it would have been that the rats would be playing cirque du vermine while the health inspector was there.

If the inspector came during business hours it's likely the rats were all in hiding due to all of the people on the floor.

Did the "inspection" involve slipping the health inspector 50 bucks?

Reminds me of the pet rat I had when I was a kid. She freaked me out one night by getting out of her cage and managing to get into my bed!

somebody is going to get fired at the NYC Health Department...
i hope Taco Bell and KFC paid him enough to not work for 2 months at least

You don't have to see a rat to know they're there -- for one thing, they poop constantly. You'd think a couple Extra Crispy Chicken Tenders would produce lots of evidence.

When I worked in food service in LA and Orange Counties the health inspections were astonishinly lax. One store that actually failed inspection was given a couple weeks to clean up for re-inspection (passed the second time). There was no notice to consumers that the health department had failed the store.

Interestingly, it was the employees who kept the places cleaner than the owners. I guess because we actually ate food prepared in the kitchen and we didn't want anything gross in our after-shift meals.

they (rats) won't last too long eating the crap they serve up.....unless they become immune......

Yo Quiero Diarrhea

Run, cute little ratties, run!

If the inspector did his job the day before, he would have found rat poop all over the place...unless the manager swept the evidence away before the inspection. There is also a possibility a disgruntled employee may have planted these dirty pests.
The good part is that it was caught on camera for all to see. The bad part, is that it makes you wonder how many other food establishments everywhere have these nasty rodents (and other vermin) roaming around the counters and floors and are missing their world wide camera debut.

"If the inspector did his job the day before, he would have found rat poop all over the place...unless the manager swept the evidence away before the inspection. "

My though exactly. Even more so, given the nature of the infestation there also would have been way too much gnawed on stuff to sweep under the rug. No way a legit, unannounced inspector could have missed this if the rats are for real.

wow

that inspector was either drunk, blind, or payed-off.

No offense to drunks or the blind...

Most of the time you know when the health inspector will be coming or some ppl know the health inspector so he says when hes coming. In either case you know he's going to show up so you make the store look better than it normally is. I know this happens because I worked in a restraunt through high-school.

Since we're talking about Taco Bell, I would advise them to simply declare the rats as livestock and take whatever agricultural tax breaks they can get.

I call the big one Bitey.