Lotte Cinema fined after maggots found in milk-maker

The fine of VND26.5 million ($1,146) was imposed after inspections that followed images of a maggot-infested milk making machine at a theater it runs in the city going viral online.

The images, inadvertently posted on the company’s Facebook fan page, have since been removed.

A team of inspectors raided a canteen at the movie theater on the third floor of the Lotte Shopping Center in District 7 on July 3, after being informed about the maggots.

The inspectors found that the food hygiene and safety certificate for the movie theater had expired three months earlier, but not renewed. They also found the canteen staff placing food on the floor and using unhygienic food storage containers.

After they imposed the fine, the inspectors warned the company to inspect all its facilities and ensure compliance with food hygiene and safety regulations.

In 2016, Ho Chi Minh City fined Lotte's fast food chain Lotteria Vietnam VND146 million ($6,500) in a food poisoning case that hospitalized 60 workers of a Danish company.