Fine for pest infested food store

19/04/2010 09:00:43

The owners of a food shop where mice droppings were found next to food products and live cockroaches were discovered has been ordered to pay nearly £2,500.

A representative of Bengal Cash And Carry Limited pleaded guilty to the five food safety offences during a hearing at Manchester Magistrates' Court on Wednesday April 14, and the firm was fined £1,000 with £1,465.40 costs and a £15 victims of crime surcharge.

A Manchester City Council officer visited the Bengal Cash And Carry store on Beresford Road, Longsight, as part of a routine inspection last October and discovered mouse droppings in the butchery area, as well as on shelves in the shop area and next to packets, bottles, cans and tins of food in the storerooms.

There were also mouse droppings on and around sacks of rice and flour, while gnaw marks were found on bags of flour and semolina which were on sale. The shop's floor was dirty and tiles in the butchery area were broken and difficult to clean.

The business was immediately closed to allow for cleaning and pest control work to take place and was not allowed to reopen for 11 days.

Officers made further visits during this period, before the shop was enabled to reopen, and discovered dead and live cockroaches on sticky boards that had been left at the premises to monitor pest activity.

Judge Wendy Lloyd, presiding over the case, said the owners were lucky that nobody had become ill as a result of the poor conditions.

Fiona Sharkey, Manchester City Council's head of regulatory and enforcement services, said: "Keeping a food store in such a filthy, vermin-infested state shows a wanton disregard for the health of the customers.

"This fine sends out a clear message that this sort of practice will not be tolerated and any business owners who behave like this will be prosecuted."