Two London Joe and the Juice locations faced fines of £100k+ after mice droppings contaminated food and napkins.
Garrick Street had mice everywhere in June 2023. Droppings were even in bread boxes, and napkins for customers also had droppings. Davies Street was also bad in December 2023. Mice had gnawed on bread there.
Droppings were by storage and serving areas. Crumbs under shelves helped the mice. Mice spread diseases easily. They carry Leptospirosis and food poisoning.
This includes Salmonella and Campylobacter bacteria. It spreads through their saliva and waste. The problems were very serious. So, officials closed both locations right away.
The stores admitted fault quickly; they broke food safety rules. The juice chain confessed to two offenses. They didn’t control pests well enough. They also failed to protect food, which faced contamination dangers.
The court fined them £40,000 per location. They added a £2,000 victim fee. Costs of £13,900 were also added. The total was almost £95,900. This happened January 22, 2025.
A council member spoke about the case. Customers deserve clean places to eat. These problems at Joe and the Juice were shocking. The standards were way too low. The high fines show how serious the city is.
People can trust that the council acts to keep them safe. They work with food businesses on cleanliness. Joe and the Juice said they care about safety.
They fixed the issues right away. The stores now have top ratings. They will improve their processes. They want strict rules in all stores.