A cat was discovered in the meat section by a customer at a Rami Levy branch near Sha'ar Binyamin in a video that has gone viral across the Jewish state – especially amid a rise in food prices that has Israelis up in arms.
In the video, the cat is seen walking around inside the meat on display – walking on the pieces of meat, nibbling on them and contaminating them.
"I went shopping for my daughter's birthday and suddenly I see a cat walking around in the meat section. None of the employees were there. I contacted the manager of the supermarket, but she did not respond. I stood next to the meat for about ten minutes and made sure no one was buying it," said Israel Olanoff, a local resident who filmed the shocking footage.חתול נצפה במחלקת בשר בסניף של רמי לוי @liat_ron pic.twitter.com/SSO8q7c9S3
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Case was reported
The case was reported to the Binyamina Regional Council, who disposed of the meat in the presence of the council veterinarian, as required by Israeli law. The council said that they are in contact with the branch's management and that it is cooperating with the inspection. A Rami Levy spokesperson told N12 that the contaminated meat was destroyed.
The man who filmed the video, however, disputes the council's version of events. "After I published the video, there started to be a 'buzz'. I returned to the supermarket after 45 minutes, and saw that they only take out part of the meat, only the one that you see the cat walking on in the video, and put it uncovered in the refrigerator with the other meats." Olanoff told KAN.
"Rami Levy is one of the biggest supermarkets here, (but) I'm not going back there," Olanoff declared.