By the time meat arrives on your plate, it's unrecognisable from the animal it once was.

So when one social media user posted a picture of bacon with the pig's nipple left on, people simply couldn't cope.

Many vowed never to eat bacon again - or at least for another five minutes.

Reddit user Misssmeg posted this disturbing picture of bacon with the pig's nipple still attached to the website. More than 3,000 people have reacted, mostly in disgust

Reddit user Misssmeg posted the unnerving picture to the website with the simple caption: 'This bacon still has the nipple on it'.

More than a few simply wrote: 'And I'm done with bacon.'

Within hours, the post went viral, with more than 3,000 people reacting to the disturbing image - mostly in disgust.

It prompted users to share their meat-related horror stories.

Users on Reddit reacted in horror at the 'nipple bacon' online, with many saying they were 'done' with bacon

User 1tMakesNoSence wrote: 'How many people on earth can say the words: "Yea, I've had pig nipple before"' while another joked: 'Probably anyone who has ever eaten a hot dog.'

User axel260 said: '"Just eat around the nipple". One of the top things I don't want to hear at breakfast.'

User mowrawn said: 'A while back I tried tacos with beef tongue.

'It was good until I noticed the taste buds could still be seen.'

Another, NotSoSlenderMan, recounted: 'I almost became a vegetarian because the ham at Thanksgiving dinner had a vein in it.

'I was kind of eating around it when my disgusting aunt eating like a disgusting person was gnawing on a piece like a wild animal and exclaimed, "Oh look at this beautiful vein on this ham!"'

User mowrawn posted his own meat-related nightmare: 'A while back I tried tacos with beef tongue. It was good until I noticed the taste buds could still be seen.'

NotSoSlenderMan shared his food horror story: 'I almost became a vegetarian because the ham at Thanksgiving dinner had a vein in it.'

Meanwhile, more pictures of this strange phenomenon surfaced on picture sharing website Imgur.

Users linked to one image of bacon with a nipple attached from two years ago. It was captioned with: 'Today, I found a nipple on my bacon.

'I've already converted over to Judaism. Shalom, y'all.'

Another found a nipple on a cut of pork belly.

More pictures of 'nipple bacon' surfaced on picture sharing website Imgur amid the social media frenzy. One found a nipple on a cut of pork belly, right, while another user reacted to finding a nipple on his bacon by saying he would convert to Judaism, a religion where eating pork is forbidden

An Imgur user posted this disturbing image of cooked pork fat with the nipple still attached

Many wondered if the nipple on the original post was male or female, with user MissAnneStanton asking: ' Is this a male or female nipple I don't know if this bacon is NSFW'.

NSFW usually stands for 'Not Safe For Work' but user goatcoat gave it a new meaning: 'Not Safe For Warthogs.'

A user claiming to have been a free range pork producer for two years said any bacon with nipples left on would likely be from a castrated male, as female pigs are saved for breeding.

But theBoxy_Butcher added: 'Though the females can be used as ground after their mothering years are complete.'

Many wondered if the nipple on the original post was male or female, with user MissAnneStanton asking: ' Is this a male or female nipple I don't know if this bacon is NSFW'. One joker suggested NSFW stood for 'Not Safe for Warthogs'

A user claiming to have been a free range pork producer for two years said any bacon with nipples left on would likely be from a castrated male, as female pigs are saved for breeding

Some were quick to point out that nipples are entirely edible, while one said that when they worked at a shop with a butchers, rude customers would be given bacon with nipples still attached.

User Liontta wrote: 'When I worked in a high end retail, the butchers used to intentionally give the nipple bacon out to rude/abusive customers. Usually as a free sample. I personally found it pretty hilarious.

Plenty of online users were disgusted by the post. No_comment_necessary wrote: 'Yeah, I don't think I've ever been turned off from bacon before. Leave it to ****ing reddit.' User Worldfrog added: 'I never thought anything could make me not want bacon'

Several people poked fun at those horrified by the picture, with one user, Kowzorz, saying: 'It's almost as if bacon came from a live animal!'

Another user, blumelon, joked: 'Yeah it's almost as if that thing was alive once or something HAHA'

'For anybody who might get upset about this, let me state for the record that it is not dangerous to eat the nipple, it's entirely edible.

IS IT OK TO EAT THE NIPPLE? Although most butchers make sure the nipples are not left on cuts of meat that make their way to supermarket shelves, no-one's perfect and very occasionally these body parts will still be attached. But don't worry: they're perfectly edible, if a little unappetising, and pose no harm to diners. You could even request your butcher leave the nipples on your cut of meat if you so desired. Advertisement

'It just serves as an unpleasant reminder of where food actually comes from, but is otherwise harmless.'

Another user, no_comment_necessary, proved his name wrong by writing on the original post yesterday: ' Yeah, I don't think I've ever been turned off from bacon before. Leave it to ****ing reddit.'

User Worldfrog added: 'I never thought anything could make me not want bacon. Then I saw this thing. It looks disgusting.'

Several people poked fun at those horrified by the picture, with one user, Kowzorz, saying: 'It's almost as if bacon came from a live animal!'

Meanwhile user Dirtydeedsinc joked: 'That's enough to make me swear off bacon for the next five minutes or so.'

User Liontta said when they worked at she worked at a shop with a butchers, rude customers would be given bacon with nipples still attached

User Dirtydeedsinc joked: 'That's enough to make me swear off bacon for the next five minutes or so.' But another writing under the name pingleawkwin retorted: 'Let's not get ahead of ourselves here'

But another writing under the name pingleawkwin retorted: 'Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.'

Others were in a more philosophical mood, with user 1tMakesNoSence musing: 'How many people on earth can say the words: "Yea, I've had pig nipple before".'

A disturbing reply came quickly: 'Probably anyone who has ever eaten a hot dog.'

Another, axel360, joked: ' "Just eat around the nipple". One of the top things I don't want to hear at breakfast.'



