BOSSES at Odeon Cinemas Group have said they are working hard to resolve issues after food hygiene inspectors found mouse droppings and mould at the Merry Hill multiplex.

Mouse droppings were noted in the Ben and Jerry’s storeroom, a drinks container room, by one of the cinema screes, in a cleaning products room and by a sandwich chiller unit at Costa within the Odeon cinema complex at The Embankment, according to a food safety officer’s report.

As a result of the inspection on December 6 2023, the Odeon was given a food hygiene rating of 2 which means improvements are necessary.

The cinema chain has said it has been working hard to rectify the problems and apologised for the inconvenience caused.

The report, by Dudley Council’s environmental health team, said staff must ensure the temperature of hot food is taken every two hours rather than every two-and-a-half and that items intended to be sold as hot must be held at or above 63°C after cheese sauce was recorded at 56°C.

The report said training must be improved to ensure staff recognise signs of pests and that evidence of such activity is reported immediately; and it called for the cleaning schedule to be reviewed to include food storage rooms.

Following the initial inspection, revisits were called out on December 7 and 11 and weekly visits from Rentokil were ordered.

The report also noted “a small amount of mould to the rear back plate of the ice machine” and said it needed to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected; and it added that dirt was found in the top corners of the popcorn display warmers.

The cinema was also ordered to ensure information regarding allergens within all products is accurate and “not misleading”.

A spokesperson for Odeon said: “We are aware of the issue at ODEON Dudley. We are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.”