Rat sipping Starbucks syrup

Posted: April 26th, 2011 - 10:32pm by Doug Powell

Starbucks has instituted several new procedures in response to a YouTube video shot April 21 which shows what's believed to be a black rat inside the Terra Nova Starbucks (that’s in B.C., in Canada), searching for food while walking on the counter amongst the syrups.

Steve Chong, Richmond's chief public health inspector, said that an environmental health officer met with Starbucks management on Tuesday morning to deal with the concerns.

"Based on the inspection today, there is no indication that there's a rodent infestation," Chong told The Richmond Review.

Chong said the pest control employee noted some rodent access points, which have now been pest-proofed.

Chong believes from the grainy images that it was a black rat seen foraging around the syrups in the YouTube video. They wander up to 100 yards from their home.

That rat's got happy feet.
 

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Terra Nova Resident says:

This is not a satisfactory response from Steve Chong or Starbucks. This is not the first rodent complaint that the Terra Nova Starbucks has received. Approximately two months ago, I was at the Terra Nova Starbucks when the customer in front of me spotted a mouse in the refrigerated display case. The refrigerated display case connects directly to the glass display case containing pasteries and other open food items. When we got to the front of the line, we advised the manager, Amanda, and she laughed it off saying that she was aware of the mouse in the display case as she had been trying to catch it all morning. I immediately called the Richmond health inspection agency and reported the matter. I was called later to advise that the Richmond health agency had visited the Starbucks and had discussed the matter with the manager. I visited the Starbucks later in the day and was surprised to see that none of the food had been disposed of and the store was operating as normal - dispite the fact that open food items may have been directly contaminated by rodents. I feel that this level of response is completely unacceptable, especially for a public company like Starbucks.

Posted on April 27th, 2011 - 3:42am

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