A hospital in Finland is in hot water after one of its patients lodged a complaint after finding a mouse head in his plate of steamed vegetables.

While the health of the patient in Joensuu, eastern Finland, whose name was withheld, had not been endangered by the dead rat, Sakari Kela, chief administrator at the Northern Karelia Central Hospital said it was "understandable that he lost his appetite."

According to hospital authorities, the rodent's head probably came from a bag of Belgian vegetables.

"The body has not been found and being "a Belgian mouse, the rest of it could be anywhere in Europe", Kela said.