Bakery fined £177K over mouse droppings found on pasty

An examination confirmed the mouse droppings "had been in contact with the pasty during the cooking process"

A bakery that sold a pasty contaminated with mouse droppings has been fined more than £177,000 for food safety breaches.

The case centred on two bakeries owned by Sayers Bakers Ltd in Liverpool in December 2015 and February 2016.

The company admitted 13 charges of breaching food safety law at the city's magistrates' court on Thursday.

A customer told environmental health staff said she vomited after biting into a pasty that had droppings on it.

She said she bought the pasty from the Poundbakery in St. John's Shopping Centre, Liverpool, and only noticed the droppings after she had bitten into it on 12 February.

Council officers visited the premises and found a number of breaches including debris and grease on the floor

An examination confirmed the mouse droppings "had been in contact with the pasty during the cooking process".

Council officers visited the premises and found a number of breaches including mouse droppings, takeaway bags, debris and grease on the floor, and a dead mouse behind a freezer.

The premises were closed until a further inspection on 15 February which found conditions no longer presented an imminent risk to health and the cafe re-opened.

Live cockroaches were found on the window display area and inside a display chiller within the shop on Muirhead Avenue

A separate, scheduled, visit to Sayers Bakery on Muirhead Avenue in West Derby on 7 December 2015 found cockroaches in traps behind a fridge, next to a freezer and on shelving where baking trays were stored.

Live cockroaches were found on the window display area and inside a display chiller within the shop.

The shop was closed but re-opened the following week following another inspection.

Sayers have been approached for comment, but the council has said the company co-operated fully with investigations.