A CTV News investigation has uncovered evidence of food that appears to have been eaten by mice and remained on sale to customers earlier this week at a Zellers store located at the Lansdowne Centre in Richmond, B.C.
Video and photos obtained by CTV News show mouse droppings on the floor of Zellers store number 105 as well as a chocolate bar that appears to have been chewed open by mice.
A concerned Zellers employee said customers were sold food that mice had been eating.
"Absolutely," said the employee, who chose to remain anonymous, to CTV News. "People have returned items with mouse bites in them."
The employee says the food wasn't sold on purpose. Many of the chewed food packages are thrown out every day, but some items are missed and remain on shelves.
Some snack items would not scan because their bar codes were chewed away. Pet food were also a target.
The video also showed sticky mouse traps on the floor – some right out in the open -- covered in mouse droppings, even hair and blood.
CTV News visited the Zellers Friday and found the store had cleaned up significantly.
Vancouver Coastal Health confirms they have been investigating for some time. The health inspector says the Lansdowne Mall outlet has hired a pest control company, which makes weekly visits.
"Our office became aware of the mouse issue back in September of 2009," said Steve Chong of Vancouver Coastal Health.
The authority will only shut down the store if Zellers demonstrates it cannot handle the risk.
When asked if the fact that there are still mice in the store demonstrates that the story cannot deal with the problem, Chong said, "that could be the case. We need to look into it further."
On Friday afternoon, CTV News received the following statement from The Hudson's Bay Company, Zellers parent company:
"We take pride in offering customers a clean atmosphere within our stores and are taking this incident very seriously. We are working with health authorities and our supplier partner to look into the matter. The health and safety of our customers and associates has always been top priority for Zellers and we remain committed to delivering a positive experience—and quality products in each of our stores across the country.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's St. John Alexander
