A member of staff at a Tesco superstore based in Andover, Hampshire, has claimed that the retailer’s rat problem is far bigger than has previously been suggested, with further claims that the infestation has been known about the last 18 months.
Tesco have been angered by these claims, refuting any possibility of a rat infestation and saying the superstore would have been closed down if that was the case .
The employee, who remains anonymous due to the risk of losing his job, claimed rat droppings were regularly found in trays used in the home delivery service . He added that jokes were made by members of staff about bringing in a cat in to deal with the pests .
“They’ve known they’ve had rats for ages but there’s nothing they will do about it. If it was a little bakery or corner shop then a health inspector would be straight in there but because it’s Tesco they think they can get away with it,” said the store employee.
He continued by suggesting that the supermarket was only beginning to resolve the issue now due to the publicity the problem has received through the Andover Advertiser, who broke the story three weeks ago.
The newspaper’s website has received dozens of angry comments since April 20 regarding the original report of a rat being spotted inside the store, with a majority of the comments stating readers’ disgust at the handling of the situation by Tesco.
However a spokesman for Tesco said, “Its absolute rubbish that there have been rat droppings in the dot-com’ delivery area. Its complete nonsense and I would query that source of information. We would refute these claims very strongly.”
“The main thing to point out is that if there was any problem at all and the Environmental Health and Health and Safety Officers were concerned they would shut the place and of course that’s not happened.”
“Staff are taking it very seriously. There might be one or two junior guys that find it quite amusing but we take it very seriously,” he added.
A spokesperson for Test Valley Borough Council said commented, “Tesco has received, and will continue to receive, regular visits from the council as part of our regular food hygiene programme.”
“They continue to take pest proofing measures, which we will review alongside them.”
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