Supermarket giant Woolworths NZ Ltd was fined yesterday, after admitting failing to control a rat infestation at one of its Dunedin branches.
The breach of the Food Act carries a maximum fine of $200,000.
The company appeared in court in December, pleading guilty to breaches of the Food Act, after Woolworths Dunedin South (formerly Countdown) was closed for 18 days in February 2024, following numerous sightings and captures of rodents.
Twenty-three rats were caught while it was closed.
Yesterday, the Dunedin District Court heard that between October 2023 and February 2024, rat sightings at the Dunedin South store were reported to management, recorded in the relevant register and a pest control contractor attended.
But the company deviated from its food safety plan when it failed to escalate the situation by notifying Woolworths Head of Quality and Food Safety.
This only happened on January 9, 2024.
Between October and December, 2023, there were approximately 112 rat sightings logged in the register.
A rat had chewed through wires of a forklift, the summary of facts noted.
After the sentencing yesterday, a whistleblower and former employee of the rat-infested store, who wished to remain anonymous, said the fine was ‘‘a slap on the wrist’’.
‘‘What does it really do to help anyone that was affected?’’ he said.
‘‘It's not as much about the fine as it is about some sort of policy change that actually gets implemented properly.’’
‘‘Time will tell whether the fine is enough for them to do something about it.’’
Yesterday, counsel for the Ministry for Primary Industries Leonie Matehaere said this was not a case where the rats were going undetected — staff were reporting sightings and wanted more to be done.
Counsel for Woolworths Joe Edwards put the issue down to a ‘‘systemic failure’’ within the store which the company apologised for.
Since the infestation, the company had analysed all operating procedures, training and policies and got them to a ‘‘gold standard’’, he said.
Judge David Robinson said the initial response to the infestation was ‘‘ineffective’’, but Woolworths ‘‘got there eventually’’.
‘‘It appears that the lack of escalation can be traced back to a lack of understanding as to who bore the responsibility to escalate the issue,’’ the judge said.
While there was no evidence of illness caused by the rats in the aisles, staff and customers were exposed to risk.
‘‘The company’s failures had potential to expose customers ... to potentially serious illnesses,’’ he said.
Judge Robinson fined Woolworths $33,000.
After sentencing, NZ Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle said the outcome was expected.
‘‘It's been a lesson for everybody and that lesson is not unique to Woolworths,’’ Mr Arbuckle said.
The case showed if businesses got on top of issues quickly they were easier to manage.
‘‘This is a case where the situation sort of bubbled away for several months ... and by the time it got escalated it was much, much harder to deal with.’’
He noted there was public ‘‘outrage’’ and said workers’ concerns at the time had been validated.
‘‘We were aware that there was disquiet in the store and quite a number of staff were concerned that their voices weren't being heard,’’ Mr Arbuckle said.
The prosecution signalled the importance of the issue, he said.
