A supermarket has been fined £17,000 after customers spotted mice running between the aisles at a branch in Suffolk.
Tesco was fined and ordered to pay £57,000 towards costs over the state of its Tesco Extra store at Martlesham, near Ipswich.
Suffolk Coastal District Council’s food safety team found parts of the store were dirty and mice were active in many areas, South East Suffolk Magistrates’ Court in Ipswich heard. Tesco failed to ensure adequate procedures were in place to control pests and to ensure the premises were clean, the court heard.
“It is bad enough not to have had in place the basic safeguards that would have prevented rodents gaining access to the store, but I am amazed at the lack of serious action then taken to put an end to the problem,” said councillor Sherrie Green.
The store was convicted of eight offences under the Food Hygiene Regulations between April and August 2007.
