Rat infested Galleria Melbourne dumpling shop Shanghai Master fined for food safety breaches
A gruesome Galleria Melbourne dumpling shop riddled with grime and vermin is back open despite fresh “rodent activity”.
Melbourne City
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A dirty dumpling restaurant overrun with vermin including rats, cockroaches and mice was deemed an “imminent risk to public safety”.
Galleria Melbourne eatery Shanghai Master was briefly shut down after food safety inspectors conducted a random inspection at the shop in October 2019.
Melbourne City Council officers found rat droppings on shelves and in food containers, a live rat nestled in a fridge and live cockroaches scampering along shelves.
A second rat was spotted loitering beneath a kitchen sink.
The Melbourne Magistrates’ Court was this week told rats had made themselves at home in wall cavities, live cockroaches were found in a rice cooker and mice were living in a food container.
Shanghai Master owner Tom Jiang also failed to keep his business clean and sanitised with inspectors discovering the Balwyn man’s shop was riddled with grease, grime, dirt and rotting food scraps.
Much of the filth was located in food preparation areas including under cooking equipment and in the coolroom, the court heard.
The dishwasher was not in use and inspectors failed to find any bleach or sanitiser on the premises, the court was told.
Council inspector Anita Djonlagic called-in a second officer after she uncovered the gruesome conditions at the little shop of horrors.
A Shanghai Master employee present during the inspection told officers they only used hot water and dishwasher liquid for cleaning.
The court heard there was not a separate sink to wash fruit and vegetables food and grotty chopping boards were stained with black grease.
The council mobilised to have Shanghai Master closed down after it was deemed a “real and imminent risk to public safety”.
But Mr Jiang voluntarily closed his business two days after the inspection, cleaned the joint up and later reopened.
Council prosecutor Marissa Chorn told the court conditions at Shanghai Master had undergone “overall improvement” but “rodent activity still needs to monitored” after a fresh inspection was conducted the morning of Wednesday’s hearing.
“I had some family issues …,” Mr Jiang told council officers.
“Maybe I can’t concentrate … I had lack of managing.
“I think we had a problem (with cockroaches) but not a serious problem.
“The only thing I can say is I’ve learnt a lesson.”
However, Mr Jiang, who initially claimed he wasn’t aware of his rat infestation until it was pointed out by council staff, attempted to shift some blame on to the Galleria.
Mr Jiang told the court every store in the Galleria food court was rat infested and centre management were “aware of the problem”.
Mr Jiang also claimed management placed rat bait around the Bourke St complex with a specific focus in the area at the rear of the food court.
Mr Jiang told the court he believed the rats had scampered in from next door after a “large commercial building” was demolished.
“I saw the rats at the back,” Mr Jiang said.
“The shopping centre put a lot of this bait station in the food court and in the back area.
“Not only my shop had a problem the whole shopping centre had a problem.
“We have open counter, you can’t stop anything.”
Magistrate Kimberley Swadesir was told no other Galleria business faced prosecution and the “seven or eight” eateries inspected in October 2019 did not have “pest issues”.
“The act is in place to protect the safety of those people attending your food premises,” Magistrate Swadesir said.
Mr Jiang was fined $5000 with conviction and ordered to pay $2,864 in costs after pleading guilty to six charges including failing to keep pests out.
Magistrate Swadesir said a “further prosecution may arise”.
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