Turkish food chain plagued by vermin

Kebab on Queen's warehouse in Mt Wellington was found to have cockroaches and mice on the premises just days before it was awarded an 'A' hygiene rating by Auckland Council inspectors. Photo / Jason Dorday

Pest controllers have found signs of cockroaches, rats and mice in the A-rated supply warehouse of Kebabs on Queen, one of the country's biggest Turkish-food takeaway chains.

The Mt Wellington warehouse prepares lamb, chicken and beef and supplies salad and flat bread for nine Kebabs on Queen outlets in Auckland, including Westfield St Lukes, Sylvia Park, Newmarket's Westfield 277 and Dress Smart.

Rentokil pest control has been monitoring the building every month since council inspectors slapped it with an "E" hygiene grade and forced it to shut down for a day in February last year.

The council discovered plumbing defects, cross-contamination risks, too-warm refrigerators and a lack of proper cleaning procedures.

Staff were not wearing hair covers and food deliveries were being made to several locations on the same trip in an unrefrigerated van.

Things have turned around. Inspectors returned in September and awarded the warehouse an "A" hygiene grade - though it was just two days after Rentokil pest controllers found signs of cockroaches and were told by staff there were "rogue mice".

But inspectors visited again in February this year, after receiving a complaint about fat and food wastes being tipped down a stormwater soak hole, and the condition of the business' rubbish bin. Inspectors saw no problems that day but issued a verbal warning to the company. They returned on February 18 and reported no problems.

Pest control reports supplied to the Herald on Sunday show Rentokil found low levels of cockroach and mouse activity as recently as May 2, and low to medium levels of rat activity.

They said housekeeping and sanitation were generally good, but baited traps and sprayed insecticide before returning a week later to confirm the pests had been eradicated.

Auckland Council licensing and compliance manager Ian Milnes said the pests found by Rentokil just two days before the council issued an A-grade were not a concern, as it showed the company was taking steps to get on top of the problem. "An inspection is a snapshot of how the food premises operates," he said. "If we found they were ignoring the issues they wouldn't get an 'A' grade. If we found live cockroaches or live vermin they might slip to a 'B' grade."

After the Herald on Sunday visited the warehouse, Kebab Wholesale owner Ish Salman hired a public-relations consultant. In a written statement, Salman said: "Hygiene is of upmost importance to us. We did have a cockroach problem in early 2010, which was dealt with immediately. We work closely with Rentokil to keep high standards, an agent comes through every month to advise us and act on any problems that may arise."

Salman added that all Kebabs on Queen stores had an "A" hygiene rating, and that the Dress-Smart store had an "A-Gold" rating.

On Friday evening, Kebab Wholesale Ltd public relations consultant Selina Daysh emailed the Herald on Sunday in response to questions. She advised that two council inspectors had visited the warehouse on Thursday and given it an A grade.

She provided a statement from Rentokil regional manager Rajesh Singh: "Kebab Wholesale Ltd are responsible operators, they are a low-risk and hygienic site, who have invested in a pro-active pest prevention programme."