A Leeds fish and chip shop has been fined by magistrates for poor food hygiene.
Adnan Malik, owner of Beeston Fisheries on Dewsbury Road, failed to appear in court last week for a string of food safety offences.
Malik was fined £1,800 and ordered to pay costs of £3,355.
A routine check by the council’s environmental health officers on 12 August 2013 discovered a number of issues.
Officers were concerned that Malik’s premises were not well maintained and appeared to be in poor condition.
Equipment and fittings throughout the chip shop were found in a similarly poor condition, while food wasn’t safely stored or protected from contamination.
Malik hadn’t implemented a suitable food safety management system, nor had he put in place procedures to deal with pests.
Officers revisited the chip shop on 27 August 2013 to check action had been taken but found limited improvements and even found fresh rat droppings in various parts of the shop.
The takeaway was temporarily closed while the pest control measures were completed and the standards required for re-opening were met.
With numerous offences, the council decided to prosecute and after failing to turn up for several court appearances to answer for his grime crimes, magistrates found Malik guilty in his absence last week.
Councillor Mark Dobson, executive member for cleaner, stronger and safer communities, said:
“There is simply no excuse for allowing a kitchen or food to be left in this state, putting customers at risk.
“We rely on reputable business owners maintaining clean premises to keep us safe and we’re grateful that environmental health officers are there to support businesses and help them achieve high standards or take action when they are found lacking.”
Leeds City Council regulates all food businesses in Leeds and environmental health officers regularly inspect restaurants, takeaways and other eateries to ensure they comply with strict food safety legislation.
The outcome of these inspections is a rating based on the Food Standard Agency’s national Food Hygiene Rating Scheme.
You can ratings at http://ratings.food.gov.uk/.
Businesses can contact the food safety team at Leeds City Council for advice and residents can contact them to report any concerns on 0113 247 6286 or food.safety@leeds.gov.uk.
For media enquiries please contact:
Amanda Burns, Leeds City Council press office (0113) 395 1577
email: amanda.l.burns@leeds.gov.uk
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