On Tuesday 25 September 2012, Mr Emre Karahan and Mr Ibrahim Karagoz, joint food business operators of Vesuvio Pizza, 12 The Broadway St Ives were sentenced at Huntingdon Magistrates Court, having previously pleaded guilty at a hearing in August.
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Mr Karahan pleaded guilty to 12 food hygiene offences, including non compliance with a Hygiene Improvement Notice, and two health and safety offences. Mr Karagoz pleaded guilty to 11 food hygiene offences and two health and safety offences.
The breaches were witnessed during an inspection by Belinda Betham, Environmental Health Protection Officer on 2 April 2012. The Magistrates took particular note of the amount of time that Environmental Health had spent at the premises in an attempt to assist the defendants to improve standards. Officers spent over 100 hours visiting the business, 12 times in 11 months, but advice went unheeded.
Mrs Betham found poor standards of cleaning and disinfection, cross contamination risks, no documented food safety management system, unsupervised food handlers with no food hygiene training, high risk buffets being delivered to customers unrefrigerated in the back of a car, unsafe electrical appliances and staff being exposed to a risk of slips and trips in the premises. Following the inspection the premises was issued with a food hygiene rating of 0 (Urgent Improvement Necessary).
The defendants were fined £2000 each for the offences and ordered to pay the council’s costs of £1000 and a £15 victim surcharge. In addition, the Magistrates also imposed a prohibition order on both defendants which prohibits them from participating in the management of any food business until an application is made to the court to lift the order. The Magistrates stated that they were issuing the order in the interests of public health as the defendants had shown that they did not run their business in accordance with food hygiene requirements despite being given extensive advice on how to do so. In addition both defendants pleaded guilty to offences of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992
Dr Susan Lammin, Head of Environmental and Community Health Services at the Council, 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 issues, and public health and safety comes first. The court has acknowledged the seriousness of this case and has exercised its powers to impose the prohibition on the food business operators.”
There are nearly 1000 food businesses in Huntingdonshire which are inspected and rated under the National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. These ratings can be searched for online using the link on the right, and many businesses display the distinctive black and green rating sticker and certificate.
