Source: Radio New Zealand
South Dunedin Countdown temporarily closed after rats were trapped in February, 2024. RNZ / Tess Brunton
Woolworths New Zealand has been fined $33,000 for failing to properly deal with a rat infestation at its South Dunedin supermarket.
The store was closed for almost three weeks in February 2024 to eliminate the pests with more than 20 rats caught and old nests found in the walls.
The company pleaded guilty in December last year to breaching the Food Act after a lengthy investigation by the Ministry for Primary Industries.
Judge David Robinson imposed the fine in the Dunedin District Court on Friday.
Woolworths’ failure to act quickly had the potential to expose customers and staff to illness over about four months, Robinson said.
The company failed to escalate the issue to its food safety team with staff treating the infestation as a maintenance issue instead of a food safety matter until a rat chewed through the wires of a forklift, he said.
The company had a pest management plan in place with more than 110 rat sightings in the company’s register between October and December with 10 caught during a similar period, Robinson said.
There was a lack of understanding among staff about who should escalate the issue and he said the company was responsible for ensuring its staff knew what to do.
Woolworths’ lawyer Joe Edwards acknowledged the company made an error in not escalating the problem earlier and accepted there were systemic issues, saying it was not seeking to pass the blame onto staff.
The company apologised and had taken steps to analyse its policies and procedures to reach a “gold standard” for preventing and responding to future pest problems, he said.
Rats were first detected in the Andersons Bay Road store in late 2023 and a photo of a rat perched among bacon products went viral in November that year.
One customer told RNZ she saw a huge rat “living its best life in there”, running through the wine bottles while she was shopping with her children.
Ministry for Primary Industries confirmed an investigation was launched in January 2024 after receiving complaints.
Woolworths New Zealand responded saying it had a comprehensive pest management plan in place and was ramping up cleaning procedures, adding more bait stations and getting daily visits from a pest control contractor.
The company confirmed it would close the store for 48 hours the following month so pest controllers could tackle the furry problem. Woolworths claimed it was told rodents were not nesting in the store.
Pest controllers caught 13 rats over the weekend and the closure was extended with reopening subsequently pushed back several times.
New Zealand Food Safety then confirmed Woolworths had uncovered evidence of rats nesting.
The store finally reopened 19 days later after no rat activity was found for 72 hours. But there were mixed reviews from customers with some planning to stay away and others happy to keep shopping there.
Two more rats were found at the supermarket by April 2024 but New Zealand Food Safety said it was satisfied Woolworths was focused on pest management.
The food safety regulator charged Woolworths New Zealand for breaches of the Food Act last September and the company pleaded guilty in December.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand