Owner and manager of the Saffron Restaurant, 36 Union Street, Stowmarket appeared in court on the 30th May 2013 and were fined a total of £15,000 for food hygiene offences.
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Mr Ibrahim Ali, Company Secretary of Nazmin (Ipswich )Ltd, and Restaurant Manager Mr Abdul Mukit attended Bury St Edmunds Magistrates’ Court unrepresented where the case was heard before a bench of three lay magistrates. Mr Ali, speaking for the company, pleaded guilty to all six offences.
The bench heard the facts from Caroline Whatling, prosecuting on behalf of Mid Suffolk District Council. She said that Sara Proctor a Food & Safety Officer from Mid Suffolk District Council carried out an unannounced routine food hygiene inspection on 21st September 2012. A number of issues were identified, including lack of an implemented Food Safety Management System, lack of staff training, dirty premises, articles and equipment, as well as a lack of protective clothing and facilities for hand washing.
A selection of photographs of the restaurant were provided for the bench. Mr Ali had very little to say in mitigation, and he and Mr Mukit admitted that there had been problems, in part because staff did not do as they had been asked or trained to do when there was no manager present. The Chair of the bench placed emphasis, when addressing the Defendant, on the fact that the Manager was often not present at the restaurant and had not been there for the inspection on the day of the offences. He also noted that advice and support had been given to the restaurant over a long period of time before the offences took place.
The bench retired for approximately 30 minutes. In delivering judgement the Chair commented that the Defendant had decided not to act on the advice from the local authority and as a consequence, put public health at risk. They were given credit for early guilty pleas. They were fined £2,500 for each offence, making a total fine of £15,000. They were ordered to pay costs of £1838.35 and a victim surcharge of £120. A collection order was made for payment within 28 days.
John Grayling, Corporate Manager for Food & Safety at Mid Suffolk District Council said, “Prosecution is the last resort. In this case, we took a graduated approach to enforcement, offering help and advice on the way. It is always disappointing when a food business ends up in Court, but in Babergh and Mid Suffolk, food officers work hard to ensure all food businesses are compliant, and will take action when continued failings are found.”
