Rat tears into the sliced cheese at a supermarket

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Thursday, October 17, 2019
Rat tears into cheese at a supermarket
CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Rat spotted gnawing through the sliced cheese at a Food 4 Less.

ALSIP, Illinois -- A rodent, most likely a rat or a mouse, was caught on camera nibbling their way through the pre-packaged cheese section of a Food 4 Less in Alsip, Illinois.

During a late-night grocery run, Christopher Allison noticed the small animal and started recording. The video shows the critter trying to eat through the plastic wrapping and get to the cheese.

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Allison had a relatively light-hearted reaction to the incident, and can be heard saying, "That rat knows what it's getting into... he's ignoring me, you know he's hungry," while remaining calm.

However, John Ryan, the mayor of Alsip, did not have the same reaction. A post on the Village of Aslip Facebook page stated that Ryan and other officials involved made sure that "the original products were destroyed, the display was sanitized, pest control was dispatched and the pest control logbook was up to date and reflected 2 visits this week to address the vermin issue" in the supermarket.

Vanessa E. Rosales, Food 4 Less Director, Corporate Affairs & Government Relations said, "The pest issue was an isolated event. Immediate action was taken to remove the rodent from the location and all product was removed and destroyed followed by a thorough cleaning/disinfection of the contaminated area. Pest control logs are up to date and show no activity for the past few years. Both the health inspector and the Mayor of Alsip were pleased with their findings upon inspection of our Alsip location."