US Man Hospitalised Amid Claims Rat Poison Found In Taco Bell Burritos, Investigation Launched

A Taco Bell customer in US' Colorado has claimed that he fell severely ill after alleging that his takeaway order was laced with rat poison. The unnamed customer claimed that he started vomiting after eating his burritos from the fast food store and was rushed to the hospital where he was told that he had ingested 'copious amounts' of toxic chemical, CBC News reported. However, Taco Bell has denied this, with its manager calling the allegations "ridiculous".

The Taco Bell manager, Lary Swift, said that a male customer came into the restaurant at around 1 pm on Sunday, and argued with the workers about his order. He allegedly got into an argument with an employee in the drive-thru because the soda machine was not working. He ordered three bean burritos and was given a fourth burrito at no cost.  

The manager added that the man is a regular customer who has caused problems before. The police were also alerted about the disturbance, but they left after determining no crime had been committed. The customer claimed he went home and ate the burritos around 7 pm. He soon fell sick and called an ambulance. 

Meanwhile, the hospital authorities called the sheriff's office about a patient who fell ill after ingesting food from Taco Bell. The hospital confirmed there was indeed rat poison in the burrito, according to the Sheriff's Office. Following the incident, the Sheriff's Office said it has launched an "open and active investigation" into how rat poison ended up in a to-go food order. They are also looking at surveillance video from the restaurant.  

"Right now what we're looking at is if the rat poison was actually put into his food at the restaurant. We don't know if it was, at this point in time," said Sheriff Deputy John Bartmann. He added that the case is categorized as "criminal attempt homicide." 

The Taco Bell store has denied the claims the customer's order was laced with poison by workers. Reacting to the claims, the manager said, "We don't carry poison in the restaurant. We didn't do anything like that. It didn't even add up. It's ridiculous." 

Taco Bell also released a statement after the incident saying, "The safety of customers and team members is a priority. The franchisee who owns and operates this location has informed us that they are working with local authorities in their investigation."