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Teen Says He Found Mouse in Salad Bar

Posted on: Wednesday, 2 August 2006, 00:00 CDT

By MEG KINNARD

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A South Carolina teenager says he found a mouse in his salad at a Ruby Tuesday restaurant, but state health department officials said Tuesday initial indications are the restaurant is not to blame.

The state Department of Health and Environmental Control shut down the popular salad bar after the incident Sunday, but did not find any evidence of mice infestation or droppings.

That was little consolation to rising high school senior Edward Viehman, who said he noticed the mouse on his plate just after his first bite.

"I immediately spit everything out of my mouth," said Viehman, 17, of Inman. "I said a few choice words, because it scared me ... then went to the bathroom to see if I could throw up."

Ruby Tuesday spokesman Rick Johnson said the Spartanburg location was sprayed for pests just days before. He said the restaurant chain buys some of its salad bar items, including the "spring mix" Viehman selected, from a California distributor, packaged and ready-to-eat.

"We do not believe that this object originated in our restaurant," said Johnson, who wouldn't provide the name of the salad distributor. "This is an unfortunate and very isolated incident."

Health department spokeswoman Clair Boatwright said the agency was continuing to investigate. "It's not looking like a problem on the restaurant's part," Boatwright said.

The restaurant scored a 98 out of a possible 100 on its last two surprise inspections, the last of which was conducted two weeks before the incident, Boatwright said.

Food and Drug Administration spokesman Mike Herndon said the agency had not been contacted by state officials. Local police also said they were not investigating.

In January, a California woman who claimed she had found a human finger in her bowl of Wendy's chili was sentenced to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to file a false insurance claim against the chain after admitting she placed the finger there herself. Even though it was the victim of a scam, the Dublin, Ohio-based chain claimed it lost $2.5 million in sales because of the bad publicity, and dozens of workers at the company's Northern California franchises were laid off.

Johnson said Ruby Tuesday, which is based in Maryville, Tenn., might suffer as well.

"No restaurant or restaurant company wants to have a situation like this occur," he said. "And oftentimes there is an opportunity for damage to the restaurant and to the brand. It's why we are being so aggressive in our investigation. It's why we believe ... that the rodent didn't originate in our restaurant, and it's why we are taking great pains to get to the bottom of the source."

The rodent was being sent to Pennsylvania, where Ruby Tuesday will have it examined by another company, Johnson said.

Ruby Tuesday has more than 800 restaurants nationwide, and there are least 10 restaurants in South Carolina, according to the company's Web site.

Viehman said Tuesday he was not planning to sue the restaurant chain.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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