Supermarket chain Aldi has been hit with £64,000 fine after a mouse infestation was found at its Leyton branch in east London.
The German multinational – which saw £17.9 billion in sales in the year to December 2023 – was ordered to pay £64,000 plus £241,177 in costs at Snaresbrook Crown Court after pleading guilty to a charge relating to its failure to put adequate measures in place to control pests.
It is the first time Aldi has ever been prosecuted for food hygiene offences in the UK.
Waltham Forest environmental health officers visited the supermarket in Heybridge Way on April 20, 2020, after a customer complained about the presence of mouse droppings and fur in a partially-unwrapped Easter egg.
It is the first time Aldi has ever been prosecuted for food hygiene offences in the UK (Supplied)
Officers found numerous mouse droppings throughout the premises, including in food packaging and within open milk and bread display areas.
They shut the store while Aldi carried out measures to remove the “imminent food hygiene risk that the conditions posed to customers”, according to Waltham Forest Council.
Cllr Khevyn Limbajee, Cabinet Member for Community Safety at Waltham Forest Council, said: “We take food safety extremely seriously, no matter how big or small the business involved. As a major brand, the fact that Aldi has recently expanded its operations in the borough makes this lack of oversight all the more appalling.
“We are a leading London borough when it comes to prosecuting food vendors for pest problems, poor hygiene and food safety management. While I am pleased to see Aldi accept its failings, I am nonetheless alarmed by the serious risk this posed to residents here in Waltham Forest.”