All food to be destroyed at Vars store in Hessle Road, West Hull because of mouse infestation

The entire stock of a food store in West Hull  had to be destroyed due to the discovery of a mouse infestation.

Hull City Council’s EHO  closed the Polish VARS Store immediately and seized the entire contents for destruction after the mouse infestation was discovered during a routine inspection.

The full food safety team had to be brought in to remove the produce, with approximately £2,000-worth of food destroyed.

The store which is owned by Jelena Grinevica, was inspected earlier this month by two members of the EHO.

The EHO found signs of an signs of an extensive long established mouse infestation throughout the premises along with mouse droppings and one dead mouse. Food packaging had been chewed and there was a noticeable smell of mouse urine on the items.

The assistant head of service for public protection Trevor Todd, said: “It is unusual to seize the entire contents of the shop, as mouse activity is usually confined to the floor and lower shelves. “But droppings and signs of activity were found on the upper shelves as well, which is fairly unusual and is a good indication of a well-established infestation. “To protect public health, the shop was formally closed and all of the food in the shop was seized and removed from the premises, apart from the frozen items contained in the freezers with lids.”

Attempts at eliminating the mouse problem were taken, but a professional pest controller had not been used and no pest proofing measures had been taken at the premises.

In order to protect the helth of the publis, the shop was formally closed with the service of a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice the food was seized and removed for destruction.

On January  15th at Hull Magistrates’ Court, a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Order was granted to ensure the premises remained closed until the EHO were satisfied the imminent risk to public health was gone and a Food Condemnation Order was issued requiring destruction of the seized food.

Councillor John Hewitt, portfolio holder for neighbourhoods and communities, said: “After the inspection, the food hygiene rating for this shop was zero out of five. “I urge everyone to check these scores before eating out or doing their food shopping, to see the ratings generated by the environmental health officers.”

Ms Grinevica has been contacted by the council in a bid to work with her so she can reopen the store.

If a pest controller had been contacted I’m sure they would of recommended pest proofing and ensured Ms Grinevica was showing due diligence by carrying out regular visits.

If you require pest control in Newcastle Sunderland or Durham contact us for a free quote on 0191 6450795.

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