Bird droppings on an indication at Woolworths in Three Kings noticed by a buyer doing her weekly store.
Signs within the aisle of an Auckland Woolworths have been splattered with hen droppings, sending the shop into clean-up mode.
A buyer purchasing on the grocery store in Three Kings seen the indicators, which she stated have been hanging immediately over perishable objects.
“I have been shopping there for two years and have only just noticed them. I actually had to stop doing my shop and leave the store.
“I know what diseases birds and their poo can carry.”
A spokesperson for Woolworths stated whereas birds have been “an unfortunately common issue” in meals environments, it was disappointing to see droppings on the indicators.
“The team at our Three Kings store has cleaned all the aisle signs and we ask any customer who sees something like this in a store to alert our team so they can immediately deal with it,” the spokesperson stated.
Woolworths had used netting and plastic flaps over doorways to maintain pigeons out and a few shops used “mist” netting to discourage them.
The poo-splattered indicators are the latest pest management situation affecting New Zealand supermarkets.
Last month Foodstuffs recalled a batch of pre-packaged garlic bread from shops, after a buyer reported discovering a rat’s foot inside.
The mum purchased the bread from Pak’nSave Te Awamutu and was feeding her toddler when she found the foot poking out of his mouth.
In February a pigeon was alleged to have put its head in a nut dispenser at Woolworths in Milford.
In the identical month a pigeon was seen sitting on a shelf at Countdown in Grey Lynn. The shopper who noticed the hen stated she had seen pigeons breaking open breadcrumb luggage and consuming off the shelf.
Rats have been additionally noticed sitting on cabinets at a Dunedin Woolworths, with the shop closing till the pest management situation was resolved.
Last month Auckland bakery Daily Bread got here beneath hearth after footage of poisoned sparrows struggling to walk or fly outdoors its Point Chevalier retailer went viral.
The bakery admitted it had just lately contracted a pest management firm to cull birds.
Deputy director-general of New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) Vincent Arbuckle stated pigeons can contaminate meals with international matter akin to droppings and urine, eggs and useless our bodies.
He stated businesses that manufacture, put together, deal with or distribute meals supplied splendid situations akin to meals, heat and shelter for pests to stay and multiply.
“If food businesses don’t control and prevent pests from their sites/shops, it can lead to a pest infestation and risks to food safety.”
NZFS had not obtained any complaints about Woolworths Three Kings.
Kirsty Wynn is an Auckland-based journalist with greater than 20 years’ expertise in New Zealand newsrooms. She has coated every part from crime and social points to the property market and client affairs.
