Mouse poo found in Aldi Finchley Road by hygiene inspectors

The supermarket chain says it is working quickly to rectify the "isolated" incident after a damning food hygiene report about the Finchley Road branch.

Inspectors from the environmental health team at Camden Council said that “major improvement” was necessary and gave the shop a 1 out of 5 score following their April 14 visit.

The Ham&High has seen the full report – which highlighted a series of issues with pest proofing and evidence of mice on the shop floor.

It said that a bag of flour was found on sale, on the shop floor, with evidence of “gnawing by rodents”.

Droppings were also found on shelving containing foods including flours and cakes.

A generic picture of the Aldi sign (Image: PA)

Immediate instructions were given, including to ensure that all food is protected from contamination that could “render the food unfit for human consumption”.

The shop was also told to ensure any gaps and holes to external doors, windows, pipes and drains, are filled or covered.

Aldi has blamed the problem as part of a pest issue on the “wider O2 site”, adding that work is being conducted with the O2 site management team to rectify the issue.

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An Aldi spokesperson said: “We are disappointed with the result of the recent hygiene rating at our Finchley Road store and have achieved a maximum hygiene rating in almost every other inspection across the country.

“This isolated case is caused by issues in the surrounding area, and we have immediately taken actions to address all the points raised by the inspection.”

A follow-up inspection will be requested soon, and the spokesperson says that Aldi is confident the rating will “vastly” improve.

Landsec, which owns The O2 Centre, has said: “We’re taking this issue very seriously and supporting Aldi to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.”

Six places within Camden were given poor hygiene scores between mid-April to May.