Herefordshire Morrisons hit by ‘extreme mould’ and rodents cleans up its act

A HEREFORDSHIRE supermarket was given top marks by food hygiene inspectors a year after severe mold and evidence of rodents were discovered in its warehouse.

Leominster’s Morrisons store received a sanitary rating of two, meaning improvement is needed after finding rat droppings and mold on an inspection on March 4 last year.

Herefordshire Council confirmed last April that the Environmental Health team had received complaints regarding Morrison’s Leominster and an on-site visit had taken place.

A Morrisons spokesman said at the time, “Our local environmental health officer has visited our store and is pleased that our warehouse is clean and tidy.”

However, the inspectors’ report states that the standard of cleanliness and cleaning in the warehouse was very poor in some places and generally poor throughout, with large accumulations of food waste and scraps on the floor, behind trollies and pallets, and at intersections of walls A milk spill, which the inspectors had pointed out to the staff when they arrived, was not cleared up during their time on site.

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Open groceries were strewn on the floor and under the shelves in the refrigerators and freezers of the warehouse, and heavy mold was growing on the outside of the containers.

The fronts of the doors to these units had significant buildup of dirt and mold, according to the report.

Evidence of rodent activity was also found, with an empty, gnawing package of cat treats found near the walk-in cooler and rat droppings on a cart.

However, a new report shows that the Leominster supermarket really cleaned up its act, getting the highest food hygiene rating of five.

The hygienic handling of food, including preparation, cooking, reheating, cooling and storage, proved to be very good when re-examined on March 31 of this year.

The cleanliness and condition of facilities and the building (including adequate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control) to enable good food hygiene were rated as good, while the inspectors were also satisfied that there were systems in place to ensure food sold or served is safe food, evidence that staff is aware of food safety, and the food safety officer is confident that the standards will be maintained in the future and rates food safety as good as well.