Add CategoryFAST food chain Nando’s has been fined more than $40,000 and told to clean up its act after health inspectors found rats and dirty, unhygienic kitchens in two West Australian stores.
The Northbridge and at Belmont Forum stores were found to have violated the WA Department of Health’s food standards guidelines, The West Australian reports.
According to the paper, a City of Perth officer found the Northbridge store had failed to “take all practicable measures to eradicate and prevent pests entering the food premisesâ€.
It also “failed to maintain food premises ... and equipment to a standard of cleanliness†and was fined $20,000, as well as costs of $1745.50.
“Rat activity complaint. Extremely high rodent activity present. Cleaning and adequate pest control required,†the inspector’s audit found.
The store in the Belmont Forum Shopping Centre in Cloverdale was issued with the same fine to failing to maintain adequate hygiene standards.
A Nando’s spokeswoman said company was “obviously very disappointed with these convictions†and said the food safety issues were “immediately rectifiedâ€.
“In the last 16 months we have implemented and maintained a number of measures to ensure ongoing compliance,†she said. “This has included the retraining of management and staff so they fully understand our food safety practices and follow the approved Nando’s cleaning and maintenance guidelines and requirements.
“We have also increased this focus across our other restaurants to remove likelihood of re-occurrence.â€