A photo of an unnamed Taco Bell employee licking a stack of taco shells was uploaded to Taco Bell's Facebook wall which has gone viral.
"We're currently dealing with it," Cathy Marx, the manager of the Taco Bell in Ridgecrest., Calif. told CNBC in a brief interview. The restaurant currently has an "A" rating from the County of Kern Public Health Services Department.
The picture was posted to Facebook by an account registered to "Jj O'Brien Nolan," who lists an affiliation to Ridgecrest. It was posted on the Consumerist website after a reader saw it posted on Taco Bell's Facebook page.
"Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and team members, and we have strict food procedures and zero tolerance for any violations," the Irvine, Calif.-based fast-food giant said today about the situation, according to AdWeek. "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."
This apparent Taco Bell worker isn't the first fast food employee to see a photo of themselves go viral for all the wrong reasons. A KFC worker was fired earlier this year after she posted a photo on Facebook in which she was dangerously close to licking some mashed potatoes.
