Rodent faeces found in food at Perth butcher

Perth Now

4 days ago

A butcher in Queens Park has been slapped with a whopping fine after health inspectors discovered rodent faeces throughout the premises and in the food.
The owners of Wharf Street Quality Meats was fined $62,500 and ordered to pay $2,125 in costs after health inspectors found the establishment was not up to scratch.
The butcher opened in 2010 and attracts a swathe of good reviews from locals who praise the freshness and quality of the meat.
In November 2024, City of Canning inspectors learnt Wharf Street Quality Meats was operating well below standard and issued an improvement notice.
This notice was not complied with, leading to a prohibition order for the processing and sale of food on November 25. Rodent faeces was found throughout the butcher shop and there was evidence of rodent faeces in food. Credit: Supplied by City of Canning
The butcher was in breach of 16 food safety standards as inspectors found unclean equipment, potentially hazardous foods stored outside of temperature control and failure to prevent the entry and harbourage of pests.
Rodent faeces was found throughout the butcher shop and there was evidence of rodent faeces in food.
On July 11, the store owner plead guilty to all 16 charges in Perth Magistrates Court.
City health officers have now granted the butcher shop permission to reopen.
The $62,500 fine is the second biggest handed down to a food business in 2025.
Scarborough's Brighton Bakery was fined $100,000 in June for a raft of unsafe food practices that included uncovered raw meat products being stored next to 'ready-to-eat salad items,' and foods being kept at temperatures well above safe levels. The owners of Wharf Street Quality Meats were fined $62,500. Credit: Google
Earlier this year the owners of Swadesh Indian Restaurant in Baldivis were fined $40,000 by health inspectors.
Last year, Lavoro Italiano Restaurant, also in the City of Rockingham, was fined the same amount when inspectors found crawling cockroaches and cigarette butts in the dry storage.
Prosecutors described the kitchen as one of the worst they'd seen in WA, saying: 'Cockroaches seen during the day indicates a serious infestation. When they were pointed out, the owner was not surprised'.
But a Nandos in Willetton copped the biggest fine of 2024 when it was hit with $160,000 for being filthy, crawling with rats and selling food past its use-by date.
This was followed by Belmont-based Aquarium Seafood Chinese Restaurant, which was fined $80,000 for being dirty and riddled with pests.