Shortly after health inspectors found a dead dog in the freezer at Beyond Organics, the business was closed, and now the operator has been evicted.
Bailiffs, supported by two RCMP officers, moved to take possession of the store that housed Beyond Organics on Friday morning.
A bailiff could be seen walking out of the building, visibly gagging on a smell of spoiled meat. The freezers in the building were working, but there were other problems at the site, he said.
The bailiff, who did not want to be named, said the owner of the building had been working on the eviction of Beyond Organics operator Denis Prasad for weeks, after receiving complaints from neighbours.
On May 29, the business received a high hazard rating after a Fraser Health inspection. Health authority officials found a dead dog and approximately 25 pounds of marijuana in a freezer.
The inspection report also noted a heavy fly infestation, a bedroom in the back of the business, a pet dog on the premises and other violations.
Prasad said the deceased dog was a pet he stored for a customer, and that the freezer contained only pet food and was separate from his organics food business.
There were still people using the building as living quarters on Friday, but they were evicted.
Fraser Health said the violations at Beyond Organics were not hazardous enough to warrant closing the business.
“The environmental health officer identified food premises violations that were non-critical hazards and discussed them with the owner, made recommendations for change and arranged follow-up inspections to review whether the changes had been completed,” said Jacqueline Blackwell of Fraser Health.
“Subsequent inspections were completed within the next month, and the environmental health officer found that the violations had been addressed. At all times the findings of the inspection were such that Beyond Organics could remain open while the food service operator addressed the concerns cited in the report.”
Between June 2016 and June 2017, inspectors were on site seven times, rsulting in four high hazard ratings, one moderate and two low.
The business was closed for renovations shortly after the inspections, and calls went out in social media for it to be shut down.
