A City Sandwich Shop in Edinburgh Old Town has been fined a total of £4,000 after pleading guilty to two charges under the Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006.
At Edinburgh Sheriff Court on 9 February, SS North Ltd, the Food Business Operator pled guilty to two charges relating to offences committed on 21 January 2010 at Subway, 11 Forrest Road, Edinburgh.
Environmental Health Officers visited the shop after a tip-off from a member of the public who spotted mice droppings on the way to the customer toilets.
On inspection, the officers found a large amount of mouse droppings throughout the premises including on food and food packaging.
Due to the filthy conditions that were found, the manager agreed to voluntarily close the premises until they could be thoroughly cleaned and appropriate pest treatment and structural works carried out.
As a result of the conditions found a report was subsequently submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.
The company pled guilty to two charges which related to exposing food and packaging to the risk of contamination due to an uncontrolled mouse problem.
Councillor Robert Aldridge, Environmental Leader, said: "Residents and visitors to Edinburgh are entitled to expect the highest standards of food hygiene when they buy food in the city and it's important for them to have confidence that they can shop safely. Thanks to the vigilance and hard work shown by our Food Safety Enforcement staff in bringing about this fine, we can send out a clear message to all food business operators that they must adhere to food hygiene requirements or face the consequences.”
Mice are known to be incontinent by nature and continually urinate as they move around.
And droppings and urine from mice can harbour Salmonella and other food poisoning bacteria, leading to potential viral diseases.
Since these offences came to light the operator of the premises has changed and during a recent inspection in January 2011 high standards of food hygiene compliance were being maintained.