Post date:
19/06/2013
Reference:
055/13
A local food takeaway – Spice2Burwell - has been fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £1,200 costs for breaching food hygiene regulations.
Mr Akram Ali, 27, from Cambridge pleaded guilty of ten breaches of The Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006 last week at Cambridge Magistrates for both himself and the company.
The case followed a routine inspection of the premises by the Environmental Health Team at East Cambridgeshire District Council in February 2013. The visits were to check compliance with food safety legislation, identify potential risks and ensure food safety standards were met.
The team found a number of breaches of the food hygiene regulations which included:
- Unclean premises and storage facilities
- Failure to prepare and store foods safely
- Failure to keep things in good repair
- Poor training of staff
- The owner had failed to have or completed the necessary food safety management records
Liz Knox, Head of Environmental Services at East Cambridgeshire District Council, said: “Our officers conduct inspections of food establishments throughout the district to ensure residents can enjoy lunch, dinner or a drink safe in the knowledge that the place they are going to has the highest standards. When the team went to Spice2Burwell earlier this year – they found a series of breaches of the food hygiene regulations.
“For example, staff had no means of cleaning and drying their hands properly as there was no soap in the soap dispensers, the tap wasn’t maintained and the hand-dryer was broken. Open food was stored on greasy cardboard that could not be cleaned and food wasn’t defrosted properly. Overall standards of cleanliness and state of repair to the premises were poor.
“We take a very serious view of food safety contraventions as these could lead to an outbreak of food poisoning and a risk to public health. With this case, it was clear to our officers that these breaches were very serious which is why we took immediate action and took the owner of Spice2Burwel to court. We hope the large fine handed out by the court will act as a suitable deterrent to other food outlets in the district to ensure they keep up the best food standards for their customers.”
For more information please call 01353 665555 or logon to www.eastcambs.gov.uk