UPDATE: KFC gave Consumerist an updated statement on the situation saying the company believes the whole thing is a hoax.

“A customer has made a serious claim against KFC and refuses to cooperate in the investigation,” KFC says in the statement, which includes an attached image:

“The images the customer originally posted do not include this second angle because it clearly shows it’s a piece of hand-breaded white meat chicken,” KFC’s spokeswoman says. “Based on this, and the fact that he refuses to allow anyone to see the product, we are left to believe that he intended to deceive the public with this hoax and we are considering all options. ”

——–ORIGINAL STORY BELOW————-

Probably one of the worst kind of surprises you can have in life is a food surprise. Not the kind where you come home to find your roommate can’t finish her pizza and offers it to you, but the kind where you bite into your food expecting one thing, only to get a mouthful of something unpleasant. Like chomping down on a deep-fried rat instead of a chicken tender, which is what one KFC customer in Los Angeles is claiming happened this week.

The California man says he bought a three-piece box of chicken tenders from KFC, and when he took a bite of one of them, it was ” hard and rubbery” and generally disgusting, so he spit it out, reports CNN [link leads to auto-play video].

He told radio program The Randy Economy Show that he took photos and put the tender in the freezer, and went back to the restaurant, where the manager “freaked out” and confirmed that it was a rat, apologized and offered him a free meal. It’s unclear, however if he showed the manager a photo of the rat-shaped tender or brought in the actual tender.

He’s since posted a video as well as photos of the tender to Facebook that has been shared more than 4,000 times. He reportedly refused the free meal offer and instead says he’s lawyering up.

However, KFC responded on Facebook and also told CNN in a statement that the company hasn’t been able to get in touch with the customer to verify his claim.

“We have made various attempts to contact him but he is refusing to either talk to us personally or through a lawyer. Nor has he come forth with the chicken piece in question for verification,” the company told CNN.

On Facebook, the company adds that its “chicken tenders often vary in size and shape” and that it’s “aggressively trying to reach” the customer so they can test the product at an independent lab.

Customer Orders Fried Chicken, Gets Fried Rat? [CNN]

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