Gerrity’s Supermarket
Officials at a Luzerne County grocery store in Pennsylvania, say they had to throw out over $35,000 worth of food after a woman purposely coughed all over the food as part of a “twisted prank.”
Gerrity’s Supermarket shared the news on its Facebook page Wednesday and the post has since been shared over 11,000 times.
“While there is little doubt this woman was doing it as a very twisted prank, we will not take any chances with the health and well-being of our customers,” co-owner Joe Fasula wrote. “We had no choice but to throw out all product she came in contact with.”
Gerrity’s Supermarket
Fasula said the incident happened at the company’s Hanover Township location and the company has been working closely with the township health inspector to identify every area the woman was in so they could dispose of all the products affected and disinfect everything.
Gerrity’s Supermarket
He said staff worked to get the woman out of the store as quickly as possible, and police were contacted immediately. Fasula says the case has been escalated to the District Attorney’s office, which has assured him it will be aggressively pursuing numerous charges.
Officials say they don’t believe the woman was infected but will make every efforts to make sure she gets tested.
Gerrity’s Supermarket
As for the loss of product, Fasula says Gerrity’s is checking to see if its insurance will cover it, but even if it does, Fasula says he expects the store’s rates to go up next year.
“I am also absolutely sick to my stomach about the loss of food. While it is always a shame when food is wasted, in these times when so many people are worried about the security of our food supply, it is even more disturbing,” Fasula wrote.
Gerrity’s Supermarket