Bakery fined £60k for mice infestation

By Gwen Ridler

- Last updated on GMT

The bakery was fined £60,000 after widespread mouse droppings were found at its site
The bakery was fined £60,000 after widespread mouse droppings were found at its site

Related tags Food Birmingham Hygiene

A bakery in Birmingham has been fined £60,000 for a mouse infestation, after droppings were discovered throughout the building.

Birmingham Magistrates Court was told that the bakery – which manufactures cakes for the Druckers chain of Patisseries – in Sarehole Road, Hall Green was visited by environmental health officers in June last year, who found the mouse droppings.

Druckers parent company Patisserie Holdings plc was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £5,690 in costs, after pleading guilty to four offences under the Food Hygiene and Safety Regulations 2013 at an earlier hearing in September.

A Patisserie Holdings spokesman said the company had a comprehensive and robust food safety management system designed to ensure that high standards of hygiene were constantly maintained at the bakery.

‘Shortfall in hygiene’

“Patisserie Holdings plc was disappointed that Birmingham City Council found a shortfall in hygiene standards during their inspection in June 2015,” ​said the spokesman.

“In response to the inspection, Patisserie Holdings has implemented a number of improvements to ensure that the bakery continues to maintain the highest standards of food hygiene.”

Councillor Barbara Dring, chair of the city council’s Licensing and Public Protection Committee, said: “People should be able to have confidence in the safety of the food served and cleanliness of any food business in Birmingham – regardless of whether it’s a factory, retailer or restaurant.

‘Achieve the necessary standards’

“We want the city’s food businesses to thrive and, as such, our officers work closely with premises to ensure they achieve the necessary standards required to operate safely.”

The factory manufactures cakes for Druckers Vienna Patisserie’s 28 outlets around the country, including in the Birmingham Bullring, Crawley and Manchester.

Meanwhile, potato processor Glenview Foods was fined £3,000 on November 9, after pleading guilty to six food safety offences​, including failing to properly clean its facility and conduct pest control.

It followed the prosecution of sandwich manufacturer Deli Sensi for food safety offences, after rat droppings were found ​in the area where food was being made.

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