A takeaway owner in Staffordshire has been fined £3,500 after failing to put in place adequate procedures to control pests and for poor cleaning and for failing to protect food from contamination.
The owner of the take away admitted seven food hygiene offences at Burton magistrates’ court after East Staffordshire Borough Council brought a prosecution.
When Environmental Health Officers (EHO) visited the premises in February 2008 on a routine hygiene inspection they discovered food debris in the freezer and nesting material and droppings in the motor compartment. They also found filthy and contaminated equipment. In the walk-in fridge, they found burgers being stored on a dirty floor and droppings around the sink area, including the draining board.
The officers served three hygiene improvement notices and the owner voluntarily closed the premises, which posed an imminent risk to human health.
During regular revisits between February and July 2008, the EHOs discovered mouse droppings and further evidence of an infestation. Equipment, including the till, sieves and the wire rack in the hot hold cabinet, were also filthy. The kitchen had a putrid smell and officers found three dead mice in the freezer motor compartment and four dead mice in a disused warming cabinet. The owner voluntarily closed the premises again to deal with the infestation.
The presiding magistrate said he had never seen such bad conditions during his time as a magistrate. The owner was fined £500 for each offence. He was also ordered to pay £2,500 costs and a £15 victim surcharge. The magistrate said the fine would have been considerably more had the owner not been unemployed.
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