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Health inspectors visit Safeway Beretania, find no evidence of rats

The Hawaii Department of Health said it investigated a Safeway store following a complaint about rats in its bakery section.

DOH on Monday sent a food safety specialist to the Safeway at 1234 S. Beretania St. after a video of two rats scurrying over donuts in the supermarket’s display case went viral on social media.

Health officials said Safeway’s manager was already aware of the complaint, and had already hired pest control professionals to treat the Safeway Bakery for the presence of rodents.

These professionals had visited the Safeway Bakery twice on Sunday.

DOH’s inspection of the Safeway Bakery on Monday found the following:

>> That all baked goods exposed during the rodent incident were discarded.

>> That the bakery case and surrounding areas were cleaned and sanitized.

>> That no live rodents or evidence of rodent infestation (droppings, gnaw marks, etc.) were observed at the time of inspection.

>> That a hole in the back of the doughnut case was found by Safeway and has been temporarily plugged with steel wool until a permanent fix can be done.

A spokesperson for Safeway’s parent said in a written statement, “At Safeway, food safety is a top priority, and we take this incident very seriously. Our Food Safety team has been working diligently to investigate and resolve the issue to ensure customer and food safety. After remediation efforts, the store passed an inspection by the Hawaii State Department of Health.”

State health officials said the pest professionals had set traps inside and along the outside perimeter of the building to reduce the rodent population, and that they have been checking on the bakery twice daily since the incident.

DOH cited Safeway for having a few exposed areas surrounding pipes that enter the building from the exterior. Additionally, DOH is requiring Safeway seal up all openings that lead into the store and monitor rodent control activity closely.

A follow-up inspection is scheduled for next Monday to ensure all outer openings have been properly sealed.

In the meantime, Safeway still has a green placard, according to state records, and may continue selling its baked goods.

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