A Canberra man has been fined $7000 for running a bakery that had mouse faeces, dirt and dead insects in the food preparation area.
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Tung Van Phan, 52, owned a bakery in Ngunnawal that came under investigation last year after a customer complained to health authorities about a mouldy pie.
Inspectors found the bakery was dirty and had meat pie filling sitting uncovered and in the open.
The bakery has since been sold and Phan no longer works in the food industry.
Phan had pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to comply with food sale standards and one charge of unsafe handling of food in the conduct of a food business.
In the ACT Magistrates Court this afternoon, Phan's lawyer said his client had run the bakery for 12 years but the business had been ailing.
Phan and his wife had also suffered from health problems which made it difficult for them to maintain the bakery's cleanliness.
But Magistrate Grant Lalor said the economic downturn was not an excuse for putting public health at risk.
He recorded convictions and fined Phan $7000 plus court costs.