City of Wolverhampton Council’s environmental health officers attended Fighting Cocks Supermarket, Dudley Road, for a routine food hygiene inspection in January 2025.
They found evidence of rodent activity across a number of areas of the sales floor and warehouse. This included rat droppings, gnawed food, empty gnawed food packaging, gnawed fixtures and fittings as well as rat footprints on dusty cans of food.
Other issues included poor warehouse control making pest issues difficult to identify, a lack of suitable handwash provision at the butchery counter and WC, raw and ready-to eat food stored together in the butchery fridge, mouldy food containers in the butchery fridge, a dirty WC cubical and display of the wrong food hygiene rating sticker.
Officers immediately closed the premises and it was only allowed to re-open once it was determined that the immediate risk to health had been removed.
At Dudley Magistrates Court on 24 June, Fighting Cocks Supermarket pleaded guilty to 3 breaches of The Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 for failing to:
- protect food against any contamination likely to render the food unfit for human consumption
- have adequate procedures in place to control pests
- ensure the premises was kept clean and maintained in good repair and condition
The business was fined £3,000, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £1,200 and £4,000 in costs.
Councillor Qaiser Azeem, cabinet member for resident services at City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “This is a highly concerning case in which a business knowingly placed its customers at risk.
“Poor food hygiene can lead to serious illness and, in this instance, the company showed a complete disregard for the safety of those that trusted it.
“When food businesses fail to meet the required standards, our environmental health officers will take action and provide guidance on the improvements needed. This was the case with Fighting Cocks Supermarket, and we will continue to monitor the premises to ensure compliance and protect the public.
“We are committed to safeguarding residents and consumers, and this case should serve as a clear reminder that we take food hygiene standards extremely seriously in Wolverhampton.”
