Source: NZ Ministry for Primary Industries
Woolworths New Zealand Limited has been fined $33,000 over its failure to properly escalate and manage a rodent infestation at one of its supermarkets in Dunedin.
The company was sentenced at the Dunedin District Court today following a successful prosecution by New Zealand Food Safety having earlier pleaded guilty to one charge under the Food Act.
“The rat infestation at the Countdown Dunedin South store between October 2023 and February 2024 caused public significant concern to consumers and had the potential to make people sick. There were reports of 61 rats captured during this time,” says New Zealand Food Safety deputy director general Vincent Arbuckle.
“Supermarkets are complex businesses that store and distribute large amounts of food. People rightly expect they have robust processes in place to anticipate and manage associated food safety risk. On this occasion the Dunedin South Countdown store fell well short of those expectations.”
While staff on site raised concerns about multiple rodent sightings, starting in October 2023 and increasing over the following months, the issue was not properly escalated to Woolworths Head of Quality and Food Safety until January 2024. During this time the problem in store continued to grow and became more difficult to resolve.
“That presented an unacceptable risk to consumers because rodents carry disease and leave waste on surfaces that can make people sick. Our investigation found that, for too long the store tried to deal with it locally as a maintenance or service issue rather than a food safety issue.”
Once the matter was properly escalated to Woolworths’ food safety experts, New Zealand Food Safety was alerted and action was taken, Mr Arbuckle said.
“This included the closure of the store from 9 to 28 February, as a result of engagement with New Zealand Food Safety, to ensure the pests were removed and the store was deep cleaned.”
New Zealand Food Safety subsequently worked with Woolworths to improve its processes.
“We’re satisfied it has taken the right steps so that future issues can be quickly identified and resolved.
“Woolworths has reviewed its pest management control system and made considerable improvements. These include increasing its food safety resourcing and training as well as clarifying of roles and responsibilities within the business so that issues can be effectively escalated.
“This was a unique and extreme case of pest infestation and highlights the importance of this area for all food businesses. Problems caught early and addressed promptly, avoid significant business disruption and reputational risk.”
“In this case the store did not manage the infestation according to its food control plan, resulting in a failure by Woolworths to adhere to its duties under the Food Act. We will always prioritise food safety, including prosecuting food businesses where appropriate,” said Vincent Arbuckle.
If you have concerns about a food product, you can contact New Zealand Food Safety on 0800 008 333 or use our online food complaint tool