A photo posted onto Facebook page yesterday shows a Taco Bell employee licking a stack of taco shells.
Neither the Taco Bell in question, nor the employee are known yet. Some Facebook commenters are claiming the stack of tacos were stale, but others are concerned the shells could have been served to the public.
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"Regardless of the circumstances, an employee should never represent themselves and their employer in such a manner, especially when you are working in the food service industry," said one commenter. "This just makes me hungry," stated another.
Taco Bell responded to the picture with a statement from company executive Rob Poetsch, "Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and team members, and we have strict food handling procedures and zero tolerance for any violations. When we learned of the situation we immediately contacted this restaurant's leadership and although we believe it is a prank and the food was not served to customers, we are conducting a full scale investigation and will be taking swift action against those involved."
Despite the risks of being caught by someone's camera phone, this isn't the first time a fast food employee has gotten into trouble over questionable treatment of food photographed and posted to social media profiles.
In April, a KFC worker posted pictures of herself licking a pile of mashed potatoes on Facebook and was quickly fired.
And in another horrible hit to Taco Bell's image, a worker tweeted a photo of himself urinating into a plate of nachos last year.