Did a man really find a 'deep fried rat' in his KFC? Or is it a piece of chicken?

The man has warned his friends to avoid fast food

A man claims to have found a fried rat in his KFC meal (Devorise Dixon/Facebook )

When most of us share a photo of our dinner on Facebook, it’s usually to show off how delicious it looks – not because it resembles mistakenly deep-fried vermin.

But that’s exactly why a photo taken by a KFC customer in California has gone viral, after he claimed he found a rat in his meal at the fast-food restaurant.

Former Child Development and Education student Devorise Dixon shared an image online of what appeared to be a rodent, complete with a long tail, rotund belly, and pointy face.

Dixon warned his Facebook friends not to eat at KFC, and claimed that the manager had apologised and said it was a rat.

“It’s time for a lawyer,” he wrote, adding: “Be safe don’t eat fast food!!!”

WENT BACK TO KFC YESTERDAY AND SPOKE TO THE MANAGER SHE SAID IT IS A RAT AND APOLOGIZED, IT'S TIME FOR A LAWYER!!! BESAFE DON'T EAT FAST FOOD !!!

Posted by Devorise Dixon on Friday, 12 June 2015

Describing the moment he began eating what he believes was a rat, he wrote on Facebook: “As I bit into it I noticed that it was very hard and rubbery which made me look at it.

“As I looked down at it I noticed that it was was in a shape of a rat with a tail,” he said.

Dixon also shared a video of the 'rat' in an attempt to prove the original photo wasn't tampered with.

Posted by Devorise Dixon on Sunday, June 14, 2015

However, KFC are sceptical and said in a statement on social media that Dixon has not responded to their attempts to contact him.

The fast food giant said in a statement seen by Yahoo News: “KFC has made various attempts to contact this customer, but he is refusing to talk to us directly or through an attorney.

"Our chicken tenders often vary in size and shape, and we currently have no evidence to support this allegation. We have extended the opportunity to have an independent lab evaluate the product at our own expense, but the customer refuses to provide the product in question."

KFC bosses told the Mirror that an investigation found no evidence to support this claim, however they did not confirm what the food was made of.