The owner of a Coventry Polish Deli has been ordered to pay more than £4,000 for an infestation of mice at his shop.
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Environmental Health officers from Coventry City Council discovered the problem at Polskie Centrum Zywnosci in October last year.
They visited the shop on Walsgrave Road as part of a routine food hygiene inspection.
Officers found droppings on the floor, underneath the shelving units, on the shelving units, and around food displayed for sale. The area also smelt strongly of mouse urine while nibbled food was also discovered on display for sale.
The premises agreed to voluntarily close until the imminent risk to health was removed and the premises was cleaned, pest proofed and the mice eradicated. The shop was allowed to reopen two days later.
At Coventry Magistrates Court on 21 June, owner Michal Malinowski pleaded guilty to three hygiene offences.
The 34-year-old admitted to failing to have adequate procedures in place to control pests, failing to protect food from contamination and failing to keep the premises clean.
Mr Malinowski was fined £1,000 for each offence, and ordered to pay legal costs of £1,078 as well as a £15 victim surcharge.
Councillor Rachel Lancaster, Chair of Coventry City Council’s Licensing and Regulatory Committee, said food hygiene issues are taken extremely seriously.
She said: “We try to work with traders to sort any problems out and prosecute only as a last resort. But the presence of mice in a food business is extremely serious as it poses a significant risk to public health.
“Mice carry food poisoning bacteria and urinate frequently as they move. This poses a risk to human health and was the reason why officers felt that there was an imminent risk to health and that the premises must therefore close.”
