Updated Oct. 31, read the original story below.
Five days after a Gainesville man posted on Facebook claiming to have found poop in his food, China Star passed an inspection from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
Nelson Zheng, the owner of the 13th Street China Star location, said via a translator the restaurant has never had a rat problem. He believes the brown bits in the rice that the customer claimed were poop might actually be a charred piece of a chicken wing, burnt rice or burnt onion.
“Obviously, we don't have any rats here,” Zheng said. “We follow all the recommendations for storing food.”
China Star has not reached out to the author of the Facebook post, but plans to do so soon, Zheng said.
“It’s sad the customer had a bad experience with it,” Zheng said. “But it's just very hard for me to believe that it was rat droppings.”
Johnny Carr, who wrote the Facebook post, said he is glad the restaurant passed the inspection on Wednesday because his goal was not to ruin their business or jeopardize their employees’ livelihoods.
Carr stands by his original post and said all he wanted to do was share his experience to warn people of the dangers of eating out and encourage others to check their food.
“I have no reason to fabricate or lie about anything,” Carr said. “I've had burnt rice before, I've had burnt onion before, and I've had burnt chicken before. It definitely was not like that.”
Original Story:
Gainesville resident Johnny Carr posted on Facebook Sunday morning saying he found what looks like rodent feces mixed into the rice of his China Star meal.
After the find, Carr made a doctors appointment for Thursday to ensure he has not contracted any diseases, he said. Carr has also contacted the Alachua County Health Department to pick up the feces to be sampled at a lab.
China Star, a 13th Street dine-in and takeout Chinese restaurant, has a history of health code violations, according to inspection reports from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. As of its most recent inspection on July 1, it had two high-priority violations.
These violations were for the improper disposal of potentially hazardous food items, which were sold to customers after sitting out for four hours.
According to the department’s website, “Each inspection report is a ‘snapshot’ of conditions at that moment. On any given day, an establishment may have fewer or more violations than noted in their most recent inspection.”
What appears to be rodents feces found in Carr's food.
China Star’s management declined to comment.
Carr and his wife each ordered the lunch special and a to-go order of six chicken wings and shrimp fried rice for dinner on Saturday, Carr said. Sunday morning, he decided to eat the rest of his leftovers when, after several bites, he tasted something hard with an awful smell.
He removed the brown bits from his rice and said it appeared to be poop. He said it smeared on a paper towel and his hands when he tried to remove it from the bowl.
Carr immediately went to vomit, wash his hands and brush his teeth, he said. Since Sunday, he said he has felt nauseous and gets headaches.
“I want to know what exactly this is that I ate,” Carr said. “Trust me, I will be relieved if they come back and say it’s not poop.”
Carr said he posted about this on Facebook to warn others. As of Tuesday night, the post had 150 comments, 73 shares and 97 reactions.
Carr said he is not looking to sue and is waiting for the lab results before he contacts the owner.
“My goal is not to try to make any financial gain,” Carr said. “The main thing is I just want everyone to be safe. People might double, maybe triple check their food now.”
