A Birmingham McDonald’s restaurant that continued to serve unsafe food despite a mouse infestation has been fined thousands of pounds. Environmental health officers from Birmingham City Council investigated the restaurant on College Road, Kingstanding, after a customer spotted a small mouse scurrying from the counter in February 2025 while staff appeared "unfazed" by the incident.
Officers discovered evidence of rodent activity in several areas of the restaurant, including a dead baby mouse and droppings in the food preparation area and by the drinks service station. Packaging materials were also found to be soiled. While systems were in place to prevent pest infestations, they were not being sufficiently adhered to at the time of the inspection.
The court also heard that there had been incidents of mouse activity at the restaurant on occasions in the two weeks prior to the inspection, including one caught in a trap just days before. However, in a major turnaround, two subsequent unannounced visits by inspectors resulted in the McDonald’s, which is run by Remmer Restaurants LTD, being awarded a five-star food hygiene rating – the highest possible.
At a Birmingham Magistrates Court sentencing hearing on Wednesday, May 13, the court also heard that the company has made major changes to personnel at Kingstanding and employed a new manager to oversee this and another restaurant managed by Remmer. The company had pleaded guilty to one charge of contravening the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 during a hearing last month.
Henry Skudra, prosecuting, said: “A customer said they were ordering food and a small mouse was spotted running from the counter. Employees were said to be unfazed and treated the incident as a regular occurrence.” He added: “Unsafe food was being placed on the market and being sold to customers and the restaurant was open. There was an imminent risk of injury to health.”
Mr Skudra said an emergency prohibition notice was slapped on the premises, resulting in its closure. When officers returned the next day, they found a schedule of works to get the restaurant back on track had been carried out to their satisfaction, and it was allowed to reopen.
Jonathan Barker, defending, said Nikki Remmer, director of Remmer Restaurants, had worked for McDonald’s for decades in a number of roles. He said: “Her remorse is real. It hurts her more because she is a person who takes food hygiene seriously. The last thing she wants to do is give customers food in the circumstances found during the visit on February 13 last year. We accept what was seen was completely unacceptable. While there was a system in place, it was not being implemented correctly. The franchise was reliant on people doing their jobs properly.”
He added that the restaurant operates on the site of a former pub and the source of the mouse infestation came from a part staff had no access to. As well as making personnel changes, Mr Barker said Remmer Restaurants had invested in a higher level of cover in terms of pest control measures, including the installation of sensors to detect any rodents coming onto site. There had also been no reports of customers being harmed or becoming ill as a result.
He said: “What is patently clear is that the company has done all it can to deal with the issue. There was a schedule of works completely carried out and within 24 hours, the restaurant was able to respond and the risk posed removed. A few weeks later it was given a five-star rating.”
Remmer Restaurants was fined £8,000, ordered to pay a surcharge of £2,000, and costs of £85.
