SANTIAGO, Chile - Health authorities in Chile on Tuesday confirmed what one man has claimed for weeks: that he found a mouse tail in his McDonald's hamburger.

Back in June, the man noticed something unusual when he bit into the hamburger he bought at a McDonald's restaurant in the southern town of Temuco, some 700 kilometers (435 miles) south of the Chilean capital Santiago.

He said it appeared to be a mouse tail, and filed a complaint with local health authorities.

On Tuesday Waldo Armstrong, head of the regional health department, confirmed what the customer had feared.

"There were traces of the tail stuck between the cheese and the bread, and the tail had undergone a cooking process," Armstrong told reporters.

The restaurant was closed, and a probe revealed mouse feces inside the restaurant -- and that the tail was placed inside the hamburger on purpose.

The restaurant will remain closed until Temuco health officials determine the amount of the fine.

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