Supermarket giant Woolworths is under fire in New Zealand after rodent issues at two stores, as rat and mouse infestations cause concern across the country.
Countdown Dunedin South was closed for four days this week to deal with the unwanted vermin, but customers have reported seeing rats in the store for months, NZ Herald reported.
A photo from November shows a large rat doubled by a mirror in the deli section of the store, where four captures were reported on Monday according to Woolworths New Zealand director of stores Jason Stockill.
Last week a video posted on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu showed a mouse crawling through a bowl of salad in the deli of Eastgate Countdown in Christchurch.
A food safety compliance officer then reported that the salad was not thrown away afterwards.
“Our investigations into the Christchurch incident are continuing, however it appears proper procedures were not followed immediately after the mouse was spotted,” he said.
“We would expect the food in the deli counter to have been disposed of immediately.”
New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle said Woolworths’ pest-management processes would be subject to an independent review by AsureQuality as a result of rodents at the South Island stores.
Since then the vermin issue has spread to the country’s North Island, were a mouse was seen running through a Pak’n’Save in Auckland.
