Diepkloof - The Diepkloof Food Lover's Market store that recently caused a stir after a rodent was captured eating food on display is set to reopen following a revamp, Food Lover’s Market Group announced on Wednesday.
Food Lover's came under fire after video footage emerged showing a rat eating food on display at the salads section at the Diepkloof Square branch.
The video then went viral, sparking outrage and resulting in the closure of the store to allow for a deep cleaning process and fumigation.
It also emerged that the store, along with another one at Jabulani Mall, had not been complying with a number of food safety regulations for years.
Food Lover's Market Group in a statement confirmed the reopening of the store after passing an inspection with the City of Joburg's Environmental and Health Services Department.
"We were initially going to do a thorough deep clean but, in conjunction with our franchisee, elected to rather bring forward a scheduled revamp of the store. This would not only address the health and safety issues but also substantially improve the customer experience, bringing it on par with the best stores in our group.
"Our teams worked tirelessly to ensure that this was completed as soon as possible and we are excited to announce that, having passed an inspection... our store will reopen the Thursday, January 31, 2019.
The company further said: "We also wish to thank the City of Joburg and its officials for working with us to ensure that we can open and be compliant in every way.
"We are also pleased to note that work has been done to clean up the informal dumping in the perimeter of Diepkloof Square and hope that this work will continue in the future."