The shock findings were made at Indian Spicy Foods in Normanton Road. [Jeff: No shock to us]
Owner Balvir Singh pleaded guilty to breaching food and hygiene regulations and has now been fined £1,450 and ordered to pay £1,500 court costs. He said he had been very busy and had a bad back and so had been unable to clean up the rat droppings.
Derby Crown Court heard that inspectors visited the takeaway on March 10 and found it to be “woefully unsatisfactory” with the premises being “an imminent risk to injury of health”.
Zoe Henry, prosecuting on behalf of Derby City Council, said the problems included:
An accumulation of dirt, grease and debris on the floor
Rat droppings in food preparation area
Gaps in food storage area where rodents could gain access
Extraction grills needed a deep-clean
Items in the food preparation area, such as chopping boards, were damaged and could not be cleaned up to a standard so food could be safely prepared on them.
Singh, 51, agreed to close down the premises but when an inspector visited the following day she found “there were some improvements although some of the concerns remained” but said he could remain open and provided advice for further changes.
Inspectors visited again to check his progress on March 18, then again on June 9.
On the last visit they found the conditions had deteriorated quite a lot.
This time inspectors found food in the chiller that was “unfit for human consumption” – including mouldy and out-of-date chilli and cheese. A bag of Monterey Jack grated cheese had a date of January 31, although it had been stored in the freezer for some time but inspectors were unsure when it had been taken out and put in the fridge.
On June 12 hygiene improvement notices were served on Singh.
Miss Henry said that Singh complied with the notices and was interviewed under caution and accepted the level of cleanliness at his takeaway was “unacceptable”.
“About the food that was out-of-date or unfit for human consumption, he said he did carry out stock rotation in the fridge but the mouldy or out-of-date food must have been at the back and missed,” said Miss Henry.
When the premises were inspected again on September 5, food inspectors found that the relevant improvements had been made but there were areas of deep-cleaning that had not been carried out.
The court heard that Singh, who lives in a flat above the takeaway, had operated his business since April 2009 and there had previously not been problems.
Justin Wigoder, in mitigation, said: “On September 5, the Food Safety Agency issued Mr Singh with a certificate that indicated his hygiene rating was acceptable.
“There has been these blips but he has been taking such steps that he can deal with it.”
Mr Wigoder said he had been on refresher courses and had been checking the temperature of his chillers everyday.
A number of references from Singh’s customers were handed to the judge.
The court heard that Singh had limited funds, making about £800 from his business a month.
Vote BNP to clean up this vermin especially the ones behind the counter. We will ban all ritually slaughtered meat including Halal & Kosher
