About five percent of local supermarkets had traces of mice more than 2.5 times the standard, the office of the Shanghai Patriotic Health Campaign Commission said yesterday.

Local health officials visited 56 outlets of 12 supermarkets from March 10 to 17 to search for traces of mice and cockroaches and check mouse prevention measures.

Outlets of E-Mart, Trust-Mart and Huanlian GMS were found to have the worst mice problems of the supermarkets checked.

More than 42.41 percent of E-Mart outlets checked by officials had marks of mice, including dead bodies, footprints, excreta and bite marks.

Such traces were found in 18.75 and 17.86 percent of the other two supermarkets.

None of the supermarkets had qualified mouse prevention measures.

"Training and education will be launched after the check," said Jin Peiwu, vice director of the office of Shanghai Patriotic Health Campaign Commission.

"Pest control in supermarkets will become our regular task. More checks and media reports will be conducted in the future," Jin said.

Both the density of live cockroaches and traces of cockroaches in checked supermarkets were lower than the standard, three percent and five percent respectively.

Only E-Mart and Trust-Mart failed to pass the check on live cockroaches, and Trust-Mart and Huanlian GMS had traces of cockroaches above the standard, officials said.

The checks followed a trial program in November, when officials visited 40 outlets from eight supermarkets.

In November they found 11.55 percent of the checked area had traces of mice five times higher than the standard, officials said.

(Shanghai Daily March 25, 2008)