'Rat infestation' supermarket must pay over £8k

A supermarket where a "significant rat infestation" was found has been ordered to pay more than £8,000, the council in Wolverhampton said.

Evidence of rodent activity across a number of areas of the sales floor and warehouse was discovered by environmental health officers who went to Fighting Cocks Supermarket [FCS] on Dudley Road last year.

This included rat droppings, gnawed food, gnawed fixtures and fittings and rat footprints on dusty cans of food, the authority said.

FCS admitted breaches of the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 at Dudley Magistrates' Court.

The business was fined £3,000, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £1,200 and £4,000 in costs.

The council said its environmental health officers attended FCS on Dudley Road for a routine food hygiene inspection in January 2025.

Issues included poor warehouse control making pest issues difficult to identify, "raw and ready-to-eat food stored together in the butchery fridge, mouldy food containers in the butchery fridge" and displaying the wrong food hygiene rating sticker.

Officers immediately closed the premises and reopening was only allowed once it was determined the immediate risk to health had been removed, the authority added.

Council cabinet member for resident services Qaiser Azeem said: "Poor food hygiene can lead to serious illness and, in this instance, the company showed a complete disregard for the safety of those that trusted it."

He added the case "should serve as a clear reminder that we take food hygiene standards extremely seriously in Wolverhampton".

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