Jackpot Dining fined $22,000 after rodent droppings and blood covered shelves found in Brisbane restaurant

A popular Chinese restaurant has been fined nearly $25,000 after food safety inspectors found rodent droppings and blood-covered shelves.

Jackpot Dining’s CBD eatery in Brisbane’s Elizabeth Street had “an obvious rodent problem” when it was inspected on May 25, 2022, Brisbane City Council prosecutor Chelsie Hirth said.

While no rats or mice were seen during the check, a large rodent cage trap was noticed between the foot storage bins, the court heard.

The trap was found on a shelf next to a small container filled with decaying, unidentifiable material.

The restaurant’s owners and a director were fined a total of $24,500 on several counts, including failure to prevent rodents from entering, poor cleaning practices, and substandard food storage. Pictured: blood and other material on the shelves

Although no rats or mice were seen during the check, a large rodent cage trap was observed between foot rests, the court heard.

The environmental health officer noted the restaurant’s failure to ensure rodents did not enter the kitchen, substandard food storage practices Courier mail reported.

They also reported ‘a malfunction (of) cleaning processes’ due to the presence of blood on the meat-related floor and shelves.

“(Rodents) have the potential to carry harmful bacteria that can be transmitted to humans when a rodent or its faeces come into contact with food or food contact surfaces,” Ms Hirth told the court.

The visiting officers noted that hot cooked beef was placed next to the thawing meat in the cold room, with the lid of the thawed meat used to cover the cooked food.

Ms Hirth said the risk of contamination was greater because the ‘shelves were covered in blood’.

She called for punishment as a deterrent, as Wang ran eight other food companies, though none of them had broken food standards.

Hu Wang, director of JPE QLD Pty Ltd, the owner of Jackpot Dining in Elizabeth St Brisbane, pleaded guilty to eight charges of breaching a condition of a food business licence.

Mr. Wang was not required to appear in court and pleas were submitted in writing.

The court heard that Mr. Wang had no previous convictions, but had previously received notices of improvement regarding cockroaches at the same restaurant in August 2021.

A rodent trap (center of photo) was found on the shelf next to a container filled with decaying, unidentifiable material

Rodent droppings were found on the floor of the restaurant’s kitchen

He said there was a rodent problem in the loading dock — an area beyond his control — behind the restaurant.

He also submitted invoices showing that he had hired additional pest control services.

But magistrate Belinda Merrin said it was clear the defendants knew the creatures were entering the restaurant because the traps had been set.

JPE QLD was fined $22,000 and Wang was fined $2,500.