Czech food inspectors close down mouse-infested supermarket

Food inspectors have ordered a Czech hypermarket - run by the Dutch chain Ahold - to close its doors immediately after finding the store infested with mice. A spokeswoman for the Agriculture and Food Inspectorate has said the store in the South Bohemian town of Jindrichuv Hradec was ordered to close over concerns over health risks.

Inspectors discovered not only mouse droppings on site, but chewed groceries, and live and dead mice within the entire vicinity. The Dutch chain now faces a possible fine of up to several hundred thousand crowns (the equivalent of tens of thousands of dollars).

Ahold Czech Republic, a 99-percent-owned subsidiary of Ahold, has been operating in the Czech Republic since 1991.