Two restaurants were shut down last week and face charges from Toronto Public Health for rodent infestation and poor sanitation.

South China Restaurant on Mount Pleasant Rd. near Davisville Ave. and Sushi Hana near Yonge and Wellesley Sts. failed to pass inspections on Feb. 21 and Feb. 23, respectively.

Jim Chan, manager of the food safety program at Public Health, said mice were found in both restaurants. Public Health has laid charges against both restaurants for rodent infestation. Sushi Hana, which has since reopened, also has a charge pending for sanitation issues. Chan said the infractions were serious enough to take them to court.

“Usually for a minor violation, the inspector will just issue a ticket,” he said.

Other infractions against South China Restaurant were failure to protect food from contamination, improper storage of solid waste and failure to clean bathroom fixtures.

Failure to protect food from contamination was also found at Sushi Hana. At least one employee was allegedly not washing hands before preparing food. Sanitation issues were found in the food preparation and storage area.

Sushi Hana has since dealt with its rodent infestation problem. The restaurant was re-inspected on Feb. 27, and the inspector was satisfied with their pest control efforts. Sushi Hana has since reopened for business.

South China Restaurant had similar problems during previous inspections carried out on Aug. 30, 2011 and March 8, 2011. It was given a conditional pass during these inspections.