It's really not what you want to hear about your neighborhood grocery store. A mouse, and rodent droppings, were found by inspectors at a Safeway in Woodbridge, Va.
Complaints from customers prompted state inspectors to visit the Safeway in the Merchants Plaza shopping center in Woodbridge. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services found a dead mouse and hundreds of rat droppings.
The idea of buying tonight's dinner alongside the rat feces has caused some shoppers to lose their appetites. "That would concern me if it was actually in my produce," one customer said.
But don't scurry off too a new grocery store too quickly, store officials say. Pests in the produce aisle are really no surprise.
"To see a rat or some other rodent in the store is not necessarily unusual," Safeway spokesperson Craig Muckle said. "Let's understand, doors are opening all the time for customers, we have deliveries, anything that comes off a truck through the back door, or the regular door. "
Inspectors also found out-of-date and unsealed baby formula, which the store threw out voluntarily.
Safeway officials say the store has received a clean bill of health from inspectors. The store would have been closed down if inspectors found any threats to customers' health.
