After being shut down two days for health violations, a South Los Angeles market received clearance Thursday evening to re-open.
Four citations for "vermin infestation," including one classified as "high risk," were issued Tuesday after an inspection by the LA County Department of Public Health.
"El Super fullly cooperated with the Health Department and took immediate action to address the comments noted in the inspection," reads in part a statement issued Thursday evening by the grocery company.
The store has been "thoroughly sanitized," according to the statement. "We will continue to perfom stringent food safety and quality audits; oversee established quality assurance, conduct meticulous employee training and certifiction programs in all areas of food safety, and employe safety and quality assurance personnel to ensure compliance among our stores," the statement read in part.
Last week, shopper Pedro Diaz said he was sifting through the corn when he made a surprising discovery.
"We found one that was already chewed up, and there was a small black dot over the chew," he said. "So we kinda figured it was feces."
Earlier this month, a video surfaced online of a mouse weaving in and out of a vegetable display at another El Super store on Arrow Highway in Covina. The company discarded the produce and sanitized the area.
"They have to really clean up for me to come back here, that's the thing," said Paulette Jones, a customer at the Gage Avenue store. "It's sickening."
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"It's a hit for us, because it's really pretty much all we can afford for now," Diaz said. "It's the only grocery store in the community."
In recent years, El Super has built a chain of some two dozen markets in the Los Angeles Area. The company, a subsidiary of a Mexican company, has its corporate offices in Paramount. The past two years, some of its markets have been targeted with a boycott stemming from a labor dispute.
