Poundland is fined £134,000 over mice at stores
Poundland has been fined £134,000 after rodent-gnawed chocolate Santas and grease stains left by months of mice activity were found at two of its Midlands stores.
Conditions said to pose an imminent risk to health at the shops in Birmingham included a partially-eaten Easter egg and rodent-related 'smearing' on a shelving unit, the city's Crown Court was told.
Pictures of chocolate Father Christmas figures, including one with part of its head nibbled through, were presented in court, along with internal Poundland documents in which employees had complained of "crap everywhere" and a "disgusting" storeroom.
Passing sentence on Willenhall-based Poundland, Judge Mary Stacey said the evidence showed a failure to monitor and supervise at a senior corporate level. But the judge – who described mice as 'ingenious' creatures which were notoriously hard to control – accepted that Poundland's own records had helped to establish the facts of the case
Judge Stacey said: "Food safety is of course paramount to public health. In both stores in the periods with which we are concerned there had been mouse activity which had been proven to exist over a three-month period prior to the environmental health officers going in. It is absolutely clear that Poundland has apologised profusely for the distress to their customers and to the staff – and I find that remorse genuine."
The judge, who said she had shopped at both stores, also ordered Poundland to pay costs of £18,162. The discount chain pleaded guilty at earlier hearings to breaching food hygiene laws, admitting a total of eight offences relating to the shops, which operate yards apart on Corporation Street in Birmingham city centre.
Opening the case on behalf of Birmingham City Council, prosecutor Lee Bennett said inspectors called at the stores in February and September 2015 after separate complaints from members of the public.
Mr Bennett said the first inspector to call at the larger of the two stores noted signs of pest activity, including mouse droppings near water bottles and snacks. He told the court: "We submit that Poundland should have been much quicker in responding to what we say was an evident problem."
Offering mitigation for Poundland, the firm's barrister, Ian Thomas, said the gnawed Santas had been in a stockroom and there had been "zero chance" of the products being consumed. He said: "The company takes this matter very seriously. It is sorry that it's let itself and a very loyal customer base down."
The firm, which employs around 18,000 workers and has 824 stores, had a turnover of £1.2billion in 2016.
