On the 24 February 2012 at Bodmin Magistrates court Vealls of Newquay Limited pleaded guilty to serious food hygiene and safety offences at their shop in Chester Road. The company was fined £17,000 and was also ordered to pay £6,119 towards Cornwall Council’s legal costs.
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Cornwall Council’s Public Health and Protection team brought the prosecution following a routine food hygiene inspection of Vealls butchers shop.
During visits to the premises in December 2010, Cornwall Council’s food safety officer Emma Luckraft identified a serious risk of cross contamination between raw and cooked meats at the premises. Raw meat equipment was intermingled with equipment used for ready-to-eat foods. In some instances the same equipment was used for both raw and cooked foods without adequate disinfection between uses.
The standard of cleaning to the premises and equipment was poor and a build up of dirt and debris was evident. Staff were not using the cleaning chemicals correctly which may have resulted in the survival of food poisoning bacteria on surfaces and equipment.
The walls, floor and ceiling were in poor repair in places, making it difficult to keep clean and increasing the risk of the food becoming physically contaminated.
A number of poor practices were observed; cooked chickens were left on top of the oven to keep warm until sold later that day providing the perfect environment for the growth of food poisoning bacteria; a number of cooked meat joints were unlabelled making identifying when they were produced almost impossible and a number of cooked meats that were labelled had passed their use by date.
The company also failed to ensure that all food handlers had adequate food hygiene training and were suitably supervised.
Food safety procedures and Hazard Analysis at Critical Control Points had not been reviewed since 2007. Some of the food handlers were not implementing the correct food handling procedures and practices placing food safety at risk.
Following the initial inspection of the premises in December 2010 a further visit was undertaken 6 days later where minimal improvements had been made.
During the visits to the premises in December the use of certain food equipment was stopped along with some food handling practices to minimise the risk of cross contamination.
A revisit was made to the premises in March 2011. It was noted that numerous issues were still outstanding. A number of cooked meats had passed their use by date and some products were not labelled. The standard of cleaning was insufficient and cleaning chemicals were still being used incorrectly.
Another visit was made to the shop in May 2011 where a number of outstanding issues were still identified. Food items were still not being labelled, cleaning chemicals were not being used correctly and structural issues were still evident.
Two Directors from Vealls of Newquay Limited were questioned during a formal interview at the Council’s offices. After taking into account the information obtained during the interviews, the severity of the conditions observed in December 2010, evidence available and the poor food safety history of the premises a decision was made to prosecute.
Lance Kennedy, Cornwall Council’s portfolio holder for Community Safety and Public Protection said: “The fine imposed by the magistrates reflects the seriousness of this case. We do try to work with businesses, but we will not hesitate to take formal action through the courts if they ignore our advice and fail to take the appropriate steps to protect the safety of their workers or members of the public.”
Allan Hampshire, Cornwall Council’s Head of Public Health and Protection said: “Food hygiene is of the utmost importance with regard to public health, the consequences can be severe and dangerous. We are available to give advice to any premises to prevent breaches of the Regulations, they have only to ask. However we will continue with inspection and not hesitate to prosecute where appropriate.”
In mitigation the solicitor representing Veall’s of Newquay Limited said that the company admitted culpability at the outset and was “extremely sorry” for what had occurred and that “a number of lessons had been learned”.
The Magistrates gave credit for the guilty pleas; however, they were concerned at the potential risk to public health and to the company’s “total disregard for food safety”.
