Sandwich shop reopens after mouse 'droppings and urine' found

The branch was closed on Friday after environmental health officers allegedly discovered droppings and urine on food preparation surfaces and throughout the take-away.

Franchisee Narinder Atwal was served with a hygiene emergency prohibition order, the highest level of enforcement at the council's environmental health department, indicating that the premises posed an imminent risk to public health.

However, the premises has now reopened after environmental health officers deemed that the health risk was no longer imminent.

A council spokeswoman said: "Following closure on Friday morning a deep clean was carried out along with instituted pest control measures as well as pest proofing. Staff were also advised on a change in working practices.

"The premises will be subject to regular unannounced inspections over the next few months to ensure on-going compliance with food hygiene requirements."

It is the third Forrest Road take-away to face action for mouse droppings in the last five months.

The order was imposed following a tip off from a member of the public. Officers confirmed the complaint and closed the store down.

A public notice was displayed on the door informing would-be customers of the reasons for its closure.

A Subway spokeswoman confirmed that the store had been reopened following an all clear from hygiene inspectors.

While the chain accepted that droppings had been found, the spokeswoman denied allegations that they were found on food preparation surfaces, and said the company will be speaking to the department to have this allegation removed.

She added: "The Subway chain is extremely concerned about the findings of the environmental health officer following a visit to the store at Forrest Road, Edinburgh.

"The Subway chain takes food safety extremely seriously and strictly adheres to stringent food hygiene and health and safety standards.

"The store has regular independent inspections by a reputable pest control company and all recent reports have shown no issues with the store."

Last Month, the Evening News revealed Hierapolis takeaway, just three doors down from the offending Subway, and Uncle T's across the road were also slammed by hygiene inspectors after mouse droppings were found on the premises.

Hierapolis was voluntarily closed down by management in February and is now under new management, while Uncle T's was cleared in a follow-up inspection after mouse droppings were found in January.

The two takeaways were among 130 city restaurants that failed routine council hygiene inspections in the last year. Subway Forrest Road was not one of them.

Despite being sandwiched between Subway and Hierapolis, the manager of Forrest Road hairdresser Venus said the mice have never intruded into her store.