LINCOLN CITY - A man who ordered a Subway sandwich in Oregon was shocked when he got an "extra topping" - a rat nestled within the spinach on his Italian sub.

The man, known as Jay, was having lunch with a friend at around 2pm on Oct 6 in a Subway outlet in Lincoln City when the incident happened, USA Today reported on Wednesday (Oct 14).

His friend Matt Jones took a photo, and uploaded it on Facebook in a post that has since been shared more than 1,000 times.

Jones commented on Facebook: "I just had my sandwich made which was a sweet onion chicken teriyaki with spinach.... Jay who I was getting lunch with ordered the spicy Italian and the manager lady finished off the last bit of spinach for his sandwich and when she spread the spinach across it that little mouse was in it folded up! LoL....

"Jay was shocked and I asked what is it a finger nail or a pubic hair... He said no it's a little bigger than that! So I walked back up to the counter and asked to see what it was! She actually let me take a picture of the mouse in the subway sandwich! LMFAO! Good thing I asked and she let me to document it!"

He also called the Subway headquarters to file a complaint.

Subway said that refunds were given to the customers, and an investigation was launched in a statement to the media.

"As soon as the customer alerted the owner about what happened, they were immediately given a full refund and an investigation was launched. To be cautious, all of the products in the sandwich unit were disposed of and a thorough cleaning took place, in which the Health Department gave the restaurant a clean bill of health. There were no other complaints made."

Ms Cheryl Connell, Director of Lincoln County Health and Human Services, said that the rat probably came from the bag of spinach, and the restaurant was thoroughly cleaned after.