EDMONTON, Alta., — A health order has been issued against Capital Convenience and Halal Meats LTD. following an inspection that revealed multiple public health hazards. The inspection, conducted at the Edmonton, Alberta premises, uncovered a significant mouse infestation indicated by large volumes of mouse droppings on shelves, corners, and equipment. Officials observed multiple packages of food, including dried pastas, baked items, and spices, that had been chewed into, with product missing or spilled out. A dead mouse was also found on a sticky trap underneath a wall of freezers.
The order notes that the wall behind the toilet in the bathroom off the meat cutting area is not smooth, is missing baseboards, and is not easy to clean. Additionally, the washroom door leading directly into the meat cutting area lacks an automatic closure and was found left open. The cutting boards in the meat department are heavily rutted, not smooth, and have staining and food debris stuck in the grooves. Sanitizer test strips were not available upon request.
More than six staff members were onsite during the inspection, yet no food safety certificates were observed or made available for any of them. Investigators also documented an accumulation of food debris on meat work area surfaces, underneath shelving units, and on high-touch surfaces. A large quantity of baked foods and some meat were unlabeled, from unknown sources, and not prepared in the facility, as the business does not have a space for baking items.
Various containers and boxes of food, including flour, rice, sugar, unknown contents, canned food, and drinks, were stored on the floor. The hand sink in the meat cutting area was filled with extraneous items such as a dish soap container and a long metal bar, and no paper towel was available at that sink. The back door of the facility does not stay closed unless locked, and it has been observed left unlocked for clients to enter.
As a result, the health order directs the owner to immediately close the premises. The owner must hire a registered pest control company to implement a pest management program, clean all mouse droppings and contaminated surfaces to prevent the spread of hantavirus, and discard all contaminated or chewed items. Other requirements include repairing the wall behind the toilet, cleaning all surfaces with soap and water followed by a food-grade sanitizer, obtaining sanitizer test strips, ensuring the hand sink is accessible and stocked with liquid soap and paper towels, installing a self-closing mechanism on the bathroom door, repairing the cutting boards, providing evidence of a food safety certificate for at least one staff member onsite at all times, removing all foods not from an approved source, storing all food items off the floor, and repairing the back door’s self-closing mechanism or keeping it locked to prevent customer entry.
The order is dated at Edmonton, Alberta, on May 28, 2026. Confirmation of a verbal order issued to Halif on May 27, 2026.
