A more hygienic future for an Indian restaurant in Teignmouth could be on the menu after Teignbridge District Council successfully prosecuted the Taj Mahal for breaching food hygiene regulations (Photos on Flickr).
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On Friday 27 July at Torquay Magistrates Court, the restaurant was fined £1000 for each of six food hygiene offences following a council inspection in June 2011, together with £773 in costs. The manager, Sultan Al-Mahmood, was also fined £1000 for each of the six offences together with £773 costs. The court said that both the company and the manager responsible for the restaurant were equally at fault.
At the inspection on 22 June 2011, Teignbridge District Council’s Environmental Health Food Safety Team found evidence of rats, including droppings and a dead rat under a staircase. It also discovered damaged utensils, greasy floors and walls, food on the floor, a leaking refrigerator, and holes in walls and drains. The inspector issued a food hygiene rating of 0 (Urgent Improvement Necessary) following the inspection.
The inspector instructed the staff to clean and disinfect the premises and made sure that urgent things were put right straight away so that the restaurant could remain open. Formal interviews with the Food Business Operator and manager were carried out and following another inspection in May 2012 which also found problems, the council decided that prosecution was the only way to proceed.
Sultan-Al Mahmood has said that a new operator will be taking over the running of the restaurant which has been renamed as ‘Essence Restaurant’ and is promising improvements to hygiene, including significant spending on the structure of the building.
Cllr Kevin Lake, Teignbridge Executive Spokesperson for Environmental Services said:
“We always try to work alongside food businesses and offer advice and support to ensure high standards are maintained for food safety; prosecutions are rare. In this case there were clearly some very serious hygiene issues, and public health comes first.
“We made sure that the most important things were put right straight away, and I hope that today’s result will be a lasting reminder to the Food Business Operator, management and food handlers about the importance of maintaining high standards.
“Although the restaurant is due to trade under new ownership, we know that many of the same people are involved in the business, and we will be working with the new Food Business Operator to assist in making sure better standards are achieved and maintained.”
The offences for which the council prosecuted the restaurant are under the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006. They are:
- Failing to ensure that adequate procedures were in place to control pests.
- Failing to ensure that the food premises were kept clean and maintained in good repair and condition.
- Failing to ensure that all articles, fittings and equipment with which food comes into contact were kept in good order repair and condition minimising risk of contamination.
- Failing to keep all articles, fittings and equipment with which food comes into contact cleaned and where necessary disinfected.
- Failing to ensure that in rooms where food is prepared, treated or processed there is protection against contamination in particular that wall surfaces are maintained in a sound condition and easy to clean and disinfect.
- Failing to maintain floor surfaces in a sound condition and that they were easy to clean and disinfect.
As all the council’s costs were ordered to be paid by the Food Business Operator and Mr Mahmood – covering both staff time and legal fees – the inspection and prosecution won’t be paid for by taxpayers.
There are over 1,200 food businesses in Teignbridge which are inspected and rated under the National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. These ratings can be searched for online at www.food.gov.uk/ratings, and many businesses display the distinctive black and green rating sticker and certificate.
Cllr Kevin Lake continued:
“The vast majority of local food businesses are highly rated for their good hygiene, making formal prosecution rare. However we’d always advise residents and visitors to look up scores before deciding where to eat – it’s an easy way make sure your meal is more likely to have been prepared hygienically.”
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