Hong Kong’s Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has prosecuted the operator of a restaurant in the Kwai Chung/Kwai Hing area after a diner reported finding a suspected newborn mouse in takeaway food. The department said it had inspected the premises and found hygiene conditions unsatisfactory in some areas.
The diner said the suspected animal was found in a dish described in reports as satay beef rice noodles or satay beef rice. The reports did not establish that the object had been confirmed as a mouse.
After receiving the complaint, FEHD officers seized the food in question, inspected the restaurant and began an investigation. Following the inspection, the department prosecuted the operator under the Food Business Regulation (Cap. 132X).
FEHD said the person responsible had been asked to make immediate improvements. The restaurant owner said the business would strengthen its disinfection and cleaning measures.
The department also cautioned that the online video alone could not establish when, or by what route, the suspected newborn mouse entered the food. FEHD invited the complainant to provide further information and give a statement, but the complainant did not agree to do so.
The supplied reports do not give details of the specific hygiene offences alleged, or of any hearing or outcome. They also leave unresolved whether the object was a mouse and when or how it entered the food.