A Little Caesars pizza restaurant in Florida faced immediate closure this month after health inspectors made a stomach-churning discovery: pizza dough mix contaminated with rodent droppings.
Shocking Inspection Uncovers Rodent Infestation
The popular franchise location in Lantana, Palm Beach County, was inspected on December 8 by officials from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). The visit resulted in seven health code violations, four of which were high-priority breaches that could directly cause foodborne illness.
Inspectors found that employees had been preparing pizza dough using mix that showed signs of being 'gnawed on' by rodents. The report detailed approximately 50 rat droppings scattered in the same boxes, storage areas, and preparation zones as the dough mix.
Among the specific findings were 10 pieces of rat feces inside a box of deep-dish pizza mix, stored on a shelf beneath the food preparation area. More than 30 further droppings were discovered in and around boxes containing deep-dish dough sheets. An additional six were found on a table near the restaurant's freezer.
Filthy Conditions and Swift Closure
Beyond the rodent issues, officials noted other appalling conditions. Surfaces used for making pizza were covered in a 'mold-like substance or slime'. Lesser violations included a broken towel dispenser at the hand-washing sink and a handle-less container used to dispense cheese in the prep area. These two issues were corrected on the spot.
Following the damning inspection, the restaurant was shut down immediately on December 8. It was permitted to reopen only after all critical violations were addressed.
One-Day Turnaround and Historical Problems
According to the DBPR, the Lantana Little Caesars managed to clean up its act in just one day. By December 9, the department confirmed the site 'met inspection standards' and allowed it to resume operations.
When contacted by phone, an employee of the Lantana branch said they would call back at a later time. The Daily Mail also reached out to Little Caesars corporate and the DBPR for comment.
This is not the first time the pizza chain has faced such scandals. In 2018, a customer in Indianapolis, Indiana, claimed he found mouse droppings baked into his pizza. Jonathan McNeil reported the incident, leading to the closure of that location, which was found to have had a lingering rodent problem.
The same year, a Domino's in Johnson City, Tennessee, was criticised after a photo of rat-dropping-covered dough circulated online. That store was not closed, as health officials said the issue was corrected immediately.
