INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indianapolis pizza restaurant facing scrutiny after a customer found mice droppings in his pizza has had issues with rodents in the past, according to the Marion County Health Department.

On February 6, Johnathon McNeil picked up a pizza from the Little Caesars at 2181 North Meridian Street and found an unexpected surprise baked into his crust. McNeil snapped images of his pizza and immediately alerted the health department after

"That was a lot. That was an outrageous amount of feces on the pizza," said McNeil. "You should be really cautious and check the food because it can happen to you."

Since the February 6 incident, the health department says the restaurant has been in compliance passing inspections on February 7, 14 and 20.

READ | Indy Little Caesars forced to clean after customer found mice droppings in pizza

But previous records show that this wasn't the first time the Little Caesars at 21st Street and Merdian Street has had an issue with mice.

Based on records obtained by Call 6 Investigates from 2017, health inspectors found the "presence of mice" in the restaurant during inspections on August 22, August 29, September 5 and on September 19.

The issue was "eliminated,' according to those records, on October 3 and the business had no other problems reported to the health department until the mice droppings earlier this month.

The Marion County Health Department tested the pie turned over by McNeil and found that the tiny black spots on the bottom of his pizza were actual mice droppings and they were baked into the pie crust.

Those same lab results also found mice hair in his pizza and concluded the sample to be "unacceptable and potentially hazardous."

Following McNeil's complaint, the store temporarily lost its license but was allowed to reopen the next day after passing an inspection.

The Indianapolis Health Department says they will be using this incident to train their inspectors on how to handle future mice issues.

During the cold months, health officials say rodent related issues are common in restaurants but they require each food provider to control the problem the best that they can to avoid these types of issues.

"We want to make sure people feel safe where they eat," said Janelle

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