Local

Pittsburgh grocery store cited by health department after inspector finds dead mice, droppings

PITTSBURGH — Many shoppers were shocked and disturbed when they learned the Shop N Save along Butler Street in Lawrenceville was reported for high-risk violations by the Allegheny County Health Department.

In an inspection report on Dec. 15, the health department said they found six dead mice in the store and chewed-up food like pastas and popcorn on display.

A woman who lives in the area said she refuses to shop there until the mouse problem is fixed.

“It’s very scary and disgusting,” said the shopper. “It’s a health risk and it shouldn’t happen. That’s terrible and I’ll tell you what, people depend on this store. There aren’t that many around.”

The report also stated rodent droppings were found in the aisles and in the deli area.Some nesting material was also found on pasta boxes.

“I would have never shopped here if I’ve known that. If I’ve seen that, I would have told them I’m never coming back,” said shopper Dave Botta.

Botta is a regular customer and said the store is normally clean inside.

“I haven’t seen any droplets. It’s really nice in there,” said Botta. “It’s cleaner than a lot of other stores.”

Botta plans to continue to shop there. Other customers said they are going to be more cautious on their next grocery trip.”I’ll probably be more cautious of what I’m buying and look it over to make sure nothing is wrong with (the) packaging,” said shopper Dave Markus.

The store’s owner said the store is working with pest control to immediately remedy the situation and provide a safe shopping experience.