Anglo Scottish Pest Control Blog

Dead Bird Surprise

2012-01-17T08:53:00.000-08:00

Dead bird found in bag of Tesco salad

A family in Somerset got more than they bargained for when eating a bag of ready-to-eat salad bought at Tesco – a dead bird.

Bought from the Burnham-on-sea branch, Paul Streeter from Weare, Somerset, said his girlfriend was sick after the carcass was discovered in the baby leaf and rocket salad.

Neither he, nor his vegetarian wife, could believe their eyes, especially as his wife was seconds away from eating the decomposed and shrivelled bird. Upon investigation it was thought the bird was a baby starling.

There will be some red faces at Tesco, and their supplier, who said it would be conducting a "thorough investigation".

To view the full TV report on the BBC click here.

Pigeons at Holyrood sitting comfortably.....again

2011-12-08T15:57:00.000-08:00

On 6 December, Dunfermline Sheriff Court was told that two-year-old Naphtali (aka Naph pictured below) – one of several birds used to manage bird populations disappeared when he was caught by a gust of wind, while being exercised by his handler at a football complex at Torryburn, Fife.

Naph was last seen alive on 3 April in a tree above the garden of racing pigeon keeper Andrew Hutchison, about 200 yards away. When Naph’s minders went to inquire what had happened to the falcon, the retired miner, 67, confessed he had shot him. Mr Hutchinson, whom, it was believed, had Naph in a bin bag in the boot of his car, drove off.
Eventually the bird’s transmitter was found in a stream some four miles away. The remains of the bird, which would have had to have been dismembered to remove the transmitter, have never been found.
Mr Hutchison, of Newmills, Fife, was found guilty of maliciously shooting and killing a working falcon with a .22 air rifle. He was also found guilty of removing the body of the bird from his garden, separating it from its radio transmitter, and dumping it and the transmitter with intent to defeat the ends of justice.
Sheriff Craig McSherry deferred sentence for background reports until 18 January.
Naph rose to fame as one of his many tasks was scaring away the pigeons over the Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood in Edinburgh.

from http://www.pestmagazine.co.uk/

7 December 2011

Larder Beetle larvae found in Kebab

2011-11-24T04:13:00.000-08:00

An Edinburgh kebab shop owner has been fined £1350 after cooked beetle larva was found in a kebab sold from his takeaway.

City of Edinburgh Council food safety inspectors made a visit to The Olympus Takeaway on 13 October 2010, after a food complaint.

During the visit, the officers found that there was extensive evidence of both mouse and Larder beetle activity.

Mouse droppings were also found throughout the premises, mostly in the preparation room and basement. Both dead and live beetle larvae were found in the food preparation room.

Edinburgh Scientific Service’s staff also confirmed that the larvae had been cooked.

This week, on Monday the 30 May 2011 Hasan Gundogdu the owner of The Olympus Take Away 16 Elm Row plead guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court to three charges concerning breaches of Food Hygiene and Food Safety legislation.

As a result he was fined £450 on each charge, a total of £1350.

The charges concerned his failure to store raw materials and ingredients in appropriate conditions in order to prevent harmful deterioration and to protect them from contamination.

His failure to control pests namely mice and Larder beetle (Dermestes) within his premises and his failure to ensure that the food he sold was safe, in that he placed on the market a kebab containing a larva of a larder beetle.

Councillor Robert Aldridge, Environmental Leader, said: “Residents and visitors to Edinburgh are entitled to expect the highest standards of food hygiene when they buy food in the city and it’s important for them to have confidence that they can shop safely. Thanks to the vigilance and hard work shown by our Food Safety Enforcement staff in bringing about this fine, we can send out a clear message to all food business operators that they must adhere to food hygiene requirements or face the consequences.”

As a result of the conditions, the premises were closed by Mr Gundogdu until the 16 October 2010 at which time they reopened the pest and other problems having been rectified.