Dartford Borough Council prosecuted the store after Environmental Health Officers (EHO) discovered it was in a bad state of repair and infested with mice.

Mice had entered the store room through holes in the walls and had fed on open packets of food and chewed through boxes. Dead and live mice were found in the boxes.

The store room and shelves in the shop were contaminated with mouse faeces and urine.

Officers also found that food handlers were not adequately supervised or trained.

The store admitted five charges of breaching regulation 17 of the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006 at Dartford magistrates’ court.

The charges related to failing to keep the food premises clean and in good repair, failing to protect food from contamination, failing to have adequate procedures in place to control pests and failing to ensure food handlers were sufficiently trained. They were fined £3,000 for each offence.

They were fined an additional £12,000 for one charge of contravening regulation 4(b) of the General Food Regulations 2004 — placing unsafe food on the market. Dartford Council was also awarded full costs of £7,140.
Following the EHOs’ visit, the store was closed for a deep clean to take place.