Prosecutions

A takeaway owner has been fined £13,792 for food safety violations and the business was closed down by environmental health officers, who commented that the cockroach infestation they found was the worst they had seen.

The owner was issued two fines of £4,750 and £4,765 and was ordered to pay costs of £4,277. The takeaway was in the Home Counties and was closed down last October under emergency powers for the serious and widespread infestation of German cockroaches.

The magistrates asserted that “there has been a patent disregard to food hygiene, which is a very serious offence. The owner deliberately flouted the law, and had absolutely no cooperation or respect for Slough Borough Council. She also exercised complete lack of risk assessment for pest monitoring.” A senior environmental health officer for the borough Council remarked: “The council is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of local people, and this case has proved how far we will go to make sure takeaways and restaurants in the town are not a danger to the public.”