The incident occurred at Crust in Neutral Bay and made its rounds on social media after a disgusted passer-by captured it and posted it to their TikTok account.

In the video, which has now racked up almost 1 million views on TikTok, three pigeons are seen going to town on the store’s shredded cheese.

@charlesspalton #crustpizzaneutralbay#grim#crustpizza #sydneyaustralia #NSW ♬ original sound - Charles Spalton

A spokesperson for Crust has explained that the pigeons were able to access the toppings bar as a staff member working in the back kitchen had left the store’s front door open.

'The door was left open accidentally, and the pigeon just flew in straight away,' they explained.

'That was an unfortunate day… since the incident has happened, we have taken some precautions, so it won't happen again.'

Those precautions include warning staff that they must always keep the doors closed when possible and to always cover the topping containers with lids.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, the spokesperson said that “all appropriate operational procedures were immediately implemented”.

This included “disposal of all food items, deep cleaning of the area, full store commercial clean and pest control”.

“A comprehensive Food Standards Review has also been conducted, and operational best practice reinforced across the network of Crust stores to mitigate any future unexpected visitation,” they said.

“Now equipped with an electrical bird deterrent device, we can confirm that the store is once again open for business, creating the most delicious and Crust-worthy pizzas on the market.”