Oldham café fined after mouse droppings found on teatowels

During a routine food hygiene inspection in September 2019, officers uncovered mouse droppings on the kitchen and storage room flooring, on shelves in the pot wash area and next to equipment, near food containers and on the cafés teatowels and grease proof paper.

Shelves at the premises covered in mouse droppings

A hole in the tiles at a low level which had not been pest proofed and would have contributed to the infestation was also unearthed.

Aside from the mouse droppings, “dirty cooking equipment, poor cleanliness and accumulations of grease”, led to the successful prosecution of Scoff Catering Ltd, trading as The Café on Huddersfield Road, Oldham, during a recent Tameside Magistrates’ Court case.

More mouse droppings found at The Cafe

On January 14, Scoff Catering Ltd pleaded guilty to all offences under the Food and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013.

The company was fined £612 with a £32 victim surcharge and ordered to pay £300 costs.

Dirt on The Cafe's tiles

Councillor Barbara Brownridge, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Culture, said: “Food hygiene laws must be taken very seriously and we, as a council, are doing everything we can to ensure every business in our borough complies with these regulations. This is not only to keep in line with government regulations, but also to protect our residents from premises with poor hygiene procedures.”

“We will continue to take action against this small minority to ensure that they make the necessary changes to keep their premises clean and well maintained in accordance with the law.

“We’d like to remind food businesses that they need to keep their premises clean and not wait until our officers have visited to make the necessary changes.”

Consumers can check the hygiene ratings of food businesses on the Food Standards Agency website.