I worked at a non-food related business downtown that had problems with mouse droppings in our lunchroom simply because of the poor kitchen-hygiene habits of my co-workers and easy access for the rodents coming in from the alley. No one would never even imagine closing us down for something like that. And, if we were closed down to deal with cleaning up the droppings our customers would be in an uproar! It’s part of a neighbourhoods sometimes, and unavoidable. But if restaurants pay attention to the basics like Ibata advises it’s manageable. And it should be easy to tell the places to avoid without an inspector telling you!

If there is mouse or rat poo in the kitchen, come on – would you really eat there, with a grain of salt?

If you are closed due to “rodent” infestation, I wouldn’t take that with a grain of salt – I would take it seriously. You really have to work hard to have unsanitary premises.