Quebec grocery stores repeatedly fined for rodent infestations, food safety violations

Warning: Some of the images may be disturbing to some readers.

In the first nine months of this year alone, food safety inspectors issued $150,000 in fines to Quebec grocery stores, bakeries and butcher shops.

Through an access-to-information request, CTV News and Noovo Info obtained more than 8,000 pages of infraction reports dating back to 2021, which reveal several repeat offenders on the Island of Montreal.

The documents show a pattern of unsanitary conditions — from rodent infestations to mould and cross-contamination — uncovered by inspectors with Quebec’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ).

“For us, the presence of rodents automatically means imminent danger,” said MAPAQ spokesperson Marie-Eve Rousseau.

At Marché BKR’s two locations, on Jean-Talon Street West and Laurentien Boulevard, MAPAQ inspectors found mouse droppings on store shelves, in food preparation areas, and inside packaging that had been chewed through during at least seven separate visits.

In March 2023, the Laurentien Boulevard location was forced to close for nine days because of a cockroach infestation and the discovery of raw meat in an unsanitary location.

Two months later, in May 2023, inspectors were again called after a customer reported food poisoning.

Inspectors also found raw meat for sale with an internal temperature of 12.5 C, well over what is considered safe for consumption.

Between 2021 and 2023, the two stores racked up $25,000 in fines.

According to MAPAQ records, the owner, Bilal Bakar, is also the owner of a slaughterhouse near Trois-Rivières, Que., that was fined $35,000 in 2023 after inspectors found six food safety code violations.

Food industry expert Sylvain Charlebois says these and other examples of repeat offenders show the need for more serious consequences.

“First of all, it’s surprising that these establishments are still operating. It means that people are still going there,” he added.

However, Rousseau says MAPAQ does not close businesses. Instead, inspectors work with the establishments to address the violations.

In a statement, the manager of the store on Laurentien Boulevard blames the rodent issues on nearby city infrastructure work that started in 2019, and says the store has addressed the issues and has been compliant for the past two years.

Exterminator Sean-Michael Jourdain said he’s not surprised to learn about the presence of rodents in grocery stores.

“It’s a big battle here and especially in a big city like Montreal that has such an old sewer infrastructure,” Jourdain said.

He added that grocery stores are magnets for hungry vermin and are not allowed to use tools like rodenticides.

“Label says, and it’s pretty clear, that it cannot be used inside food processing or food manufacturing or food storage areas. The only tools we have in grocery stores are glue traps,” explained Jourdain, who noted that proper pest control can also be prohibitively expensive.

“Between $3,000 to $5,000 a month. To have someone come in like every three days, look at the glue traps, and change them. Doing it the right way is extremely expensive.”

At Ram Sweet Shop, also located on Jean-Talon Street west, eight different infraction reports were found between 2021 and 2023.

In the store, which sells Indian desserts and pastries, inspectors found it repeatedly struggled with rat and mouse infestations. Additionally, on multiple visits, inspectors found open buckets containing food sitting on the floor.

When CTV News visited the store last month, a reporter witnessed a similar scene.

The owner’s daughter-in-law, who is authorized to speak on behalf of the business, said the shop has taken steps to control its rodent problem, including hiring an exterminator and moving food preparation to a different location. The last fine Ram Sweet Shop received was in April 2024.

The inspection reports reviewed by CTV News aren’t automatically available to the public, something Charlebois says needs to change.

“You want to make sure that people are aware of what’s been fixed, what’s been addressed, between inspections.”

MAPAQ does post a list of the restaurants and establishments that are fined, along with a brief description of the infraction, but nothing detailed — and that record is only public for two years.