Merry Hill cafe fined £4,900 over mouse droppings including in 'washing up area'

Mouse droppings were found at a Merry Hill coffee shop after an unannounced visited by hygiene inspectors. The droppings were discovered throughout Soho Coffee, including in the servery, washing up areas, the electrical cupboard, the dry store and the office, officers said.

Dudley Council said the pest issue occurred straight after a restructure and happened in part due to a renovation of a neighbouring premises which disturbed the mice population. The unannounced inspection took place in March 2023 after Dudley Council received information about pest activity at the site in Brierley Hill, Dudley.

Soho Coffee was subsequently forced to close under the storage, preparation and sale of food using emergency powers contained in The Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013. The store's operator was charged with three offences, which were:

The Food Business Operators did not put in place, implement, and maintain a permanent procedure or procedures based on the HACCP principles; Food premises were not kept clean and maintained in good repair and condition; Adequate procedures were not in place to control pests.

READ MORE: I visited 'forgotten' Midland town where yobs think it's 'fun' to smash Job Centre windows

Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp, click the link to join

The operator pleaded guilty to all three charges at Dudley Magistrates and was fined £4,900. They were also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £1,960 and legal costs of £1,225.

The coffee shop previously had an excellent food safety record. However during the inspection, it was found to have failed to implement a food safety management system, particularly in relation to pest control checks and cleaning. Soho Coffee currently has a five-star hygiene rating of 'very good', after an inspection in March 2024 according to the Food Standards Agency website.

Councillor James Clinton, cabinet member for public health at Dudley Council, said: "Once again, we are showing those who operate food premises that we will not hesitate to act against those who are not fully meeting their responsibilities. During an officer’s visit to Soho Coffee premises at Merry Hill last year, mouse droppings were found in the food rooms - putting the consumers of such food at risk of injury to health.

"We had no choice but to temporarily close the premises, but I am pleased the business has accepted full responsibility and has since worked closely with us to ensure food hygiene standards are carefully adhered to."

In response to the story, a spokesperson for Soho Coffee said: "SCSL is disappointed to have fallen short of the high standards it expects across all stores in this instance. Senior management immediately engaged with Dudley Council in this matter and have been highly cooperative with all parties.

"The Merry Hill store received a 5-star food hygiene rating at the inspection immediately after this incident. It has also received a further 5-star food hygiene rating earlier this year."