Moonee Ponds Woolworths accused of having rats on supermarket floor

Stomach-churning footage has emerged of produce from a supermarket in Melbourne’s inner north half-eaten by rodents, amid fears it may be a breeding ground for mice and rats.

A Moonee Ponds supermarket has allegedly become a breeding ground for rodents, with local shoppers concerned after video emerged of a rodent in the aisles.

One shopper, who asked not to be named, said she had to send her Click and Collect bread back recently after it looked like it had been chewed through by an animal.

“The packaging was all torn and the bread had a significant chunk taken out of it that looked like bite marks,” she said.

“Woolies swapped it over for a fresh loaf but it was pretty concerning.”

Meanwhile, a video on social media site Reddit of a mouse or rat scurrying the supermarket floor has gone viral, with one commenter noting Melbourne has “a massive pest problem at the minute”.

Another commenter said they were not surprised, saying the supermarket “isn’t the nicest and the surrounding streets are pretty feral too”.

The rodent is spotted racing between and under the shelves.

Rats have been spotted scurrying the floor of the Woolworths in Moonee Ponds.

In New Zealand, a supermarket was shut down for almost three weeks to eliminate rats after dozens were found on-site.

The Countdown supermarket in Dunedin South, a subsidiary of Woolworths New Zealand, has seen 24 rats captured since February 10.

The supermarket came to attention in January after staff alleged a lack of action on a rat infestation at the store.

The Dunedin South supermarket has only just reopened at 8am today.

It comes as Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci resigned following an interview with ABC Program ‘Four Corners’.
Amanda Bardwell, who has worked at Woolworths for 23 years, has replaced Mr Banducci as chief executive, as the brand announced it would slash grocery prices by 18 per cent from today over 400 products.

A Woolworths spokeperson has today responded to the allegations.

“We take food safety and pest control seriously and our store teams work hard every day to maintain our high standards for cleanliness.

“We are currently working closely with pest control services and the local council.

“If customers ever have any concerns about the cleanliness in-store we encourage them to bring it to the attention of our friendly team who will action it straight away.”