A woman shared her horror after finding a dead rat in a loaf of bread – but only after eating half of it.
Nombulelo Mkumla bought a loaf of wholemeal bread from a local South African shop on his way home from work.
It was only when he was halfway through that he discovered what appeared to be a dead rat among the slices.
A cross-section of the rat was left, with its innards and dirty black fur exposed, where the rat appeared to have been cut into pieces during the cutting process.
Nombulelo shared his horror online, talking about his gruesome discovery and wondering how the rodent could have ended up in the food during production.
What appeared to be a rat was found still covered in fur inside the slices of bread.
Nombulelo Mkumla picked up the loaf of bread at a local shop in Durban, South Africa.
Nombulelo was halfway there when he made the terrible discovery.
In the clip shared online, he opens two slices to show pieces of the rat on each side, as well as the animal’s hair, guts and tail.
She said: ‘I took the bread out of the fridge to make toast and noticed something disgusting and terrifying.
‘I took a picture and sent it to my friends, and one of them said, “FYI, that’s a rat.”
“I was in denial and suggested it could be something else, but the rat scenario made sense: it’s possible the rat got into the bread at the factory and no one noticed.”
Nombulelo, from Durban, South Africa, discovered the rodent on August 31.
She claims to have returned to the store to raise the issue and was allegedly told to file a complaint directly with the supplier, PepsiCo.
He sent an email to the brand along with his video and images of the bread.
Nombulelo says she was later contacted by phone by a PepsiCo representative.
“This experience has been traumatic and disgusting,” she told local media.
PepsiCo South Africa’s Cornel Vermeulen said they were aware of the “isolated incident,” IOL reported.
They also added that SASKO’s low-glycemic seeded wholemeal bread did not meet the company’s “strict standards”.
Vermuelen also assured his clients that an investigation has been launched and that samples have been taken from the batch in question.
The company also said it has been in contact with Nombulelo.
MailOnline has contacted PepsiCo South Africa for comment.
Disturbing images show skin and hair embedded in slices of wholemeal bread
‘I took a picture and sent it to my friends, and one of them said, ‘FYI, that’s a rat,'” she said.
Still, this is not the first time someone has reported finding a rat in their food.
A Brisbane, Australia, shopkeeper who declined to reveal his name spoke in February about the moment he realized he was eating a rat wrapped in a wrap purchased from a popular bakery.
The man bought a ham and salad wrap from Beefy’s, Aussie World, in Palmview as a tasty snack on his trip home in late January.
He said the wrap looked “normal” as he could only see lettuce, carrot and ham on top.
The Australian was horrified to realise his mistake only after biting the rat.
“I was chewing and chewing and chewing and I couldn’t get the morsel I had bitten off the wrapper,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
At first he thought the chewy texture was “a bit of ham gristle or some fat,” but he soon realized the morsel contained a dead rat.
“I kept chewing a little bit and thought something wasn’t right there. I took it out of my mouth.”
“I looked up and thought, ‘That can’t be what I’m thinking,’ and I kept driving, but when I looked down again I saw a tail and I picked it up,” he said.
“I feel sick just thinking about it again. It’s so disgusting. I was biting the rat’s body.”
The merchant immediately stopped, rolled down the window and spat out everything he could from his mouth while gagging and retching.
She said that when she returned to the restaurant to complain quietly, without drawing attention to the error, the staff yelled.
‘Everyone ran into the back room and two of them I think were frozen… They were petrified.’
With the rat out of the bag, the diners fled.
The shopkeeper told the Daily Mail Australia he took a big bite out of the wrapper and initially thought the “chewy” part was ham cartilage before making the horrifying discovery that it was, in fact, a rat.
The Birmingham trader found a dead rat inside a lettuce and ham wrap he bought at Beefy’s Pies at Aussie World in Palmview
‘By this time, the whole place had already emptied. The people who were dining there looked at me in disbelief.’
Following the incident, he received a phone call from a Beefy’s general manager who apologized on behalf of the franchise and promised to keep him informed, stating that the rat would be tested for possible toxins.
But since that traumatic afternoon, he said he hasn’t been able to enjoy a meal without thinking about the rat inside its packaging.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Beefy’s for comment.
