On the 24 February at Bodmin Magistrates ,Tamar View Nurseries Ltd, Carkeel, Saltash, pleaded guilty to eight serious food and health and safety offences and was fined £21,000. The company was also ordered to pay £7,038 towards Cornwall Council’s legal costs.
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This case concerned eight offences which were discovered by Cornwall Council Public Health and Protection officers during routine inspections of the site. The owner was subsequently interviewed under caution and questioned about health and safety offences in relation to LPG gas storage, working at height and food safety matters which included issues of cleanliness in the kitchen and cross contamination of stored foods. The company’s food safety management system was also found not to be being operated correctly. The court heard that the company has put the safety of both public and its own staff at risk due to breaches of health and safety and food safety law.
The mitigation, advanced on behalf of Tamar View Nurseries Ltd, was on the basis that they had now fully taken on board the company’s responsibility under food and health and safety law and had engaged a health and safety consultant to assist them in ensuring that the appropriate standards were maintained from now on. They had also appointed a new chef to oversee the improvement in standards in the kitchen. The company also pointed out that until this time they had a very good record in relation to both food safety and health and safety and pointed out that no one had actually been injured or been made ill.
Lance Kennedy, Cornwall Council’s portfolio holder for Community Safety and Public Protection said: “The fines awarded by the magistrates reflect 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.”
