COMMACK, N.Y., Feb. 23 (UPI) -- A New York grocery chain said it never had a rodent complaint before a 96-year-old Long Island man claimed he found a dead rat baked into his birthday cake.

King Kullen bakery said in a written statement this weekend that it had recalled everything from the shelves of its bakeries, which are located inside its grocery stores.


"Product has been removed from the bakery and the premises has undergone a thorough inspection," the statement said. "There are no known safety or rodent issues in this bakery."

But Neil Gold said there was at least one rodent issue. His aged uncle Joe allegedly got a rude surprise last week at his birthday celebration when he noted his German apple ring cake had a somewhat ratty taste to it.

"He said, 'It doesn't taste right,'" Gold told WABC-TV in New York. We flipped it (the cake) over and seemed to be a rat's tail."

The Gold family lawyer, Ed Yule, told WABC he suspected someone tampered with the cake and will turn it over to New York state officials for further investigation.