A takeaway customer got more than they bargained for when they ordered a curry from the Radhuni Restaurant in Flackwell Heath and found a cockroach in the food. The concerned customer contacted the Council’s Environmental Health Department who investigated the local eaterie.
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The Flackwell Heath business had received at least one complaint from their customers and was found to be trading despite an infestation of cockroaches in the kitchen.
Wycombe District Council’s Environmental Health team visited the premises on 3 August 2012 and closed the business due to the imminent risk posed by the infestation of cockroaches in the kitchen.
The owners, Mr Akthoraz Miah of Green Crescent, Flackwell Heath and the company Raj Kamal Restaurant Limited pleaded guilty to three separate food safety offences. After hearing full submissions and viewing the photographs and evidence – which included a jar of cockroaches taken from the premises – the court ordered the owners to pay a £2,000 fine, £1,500 towards the Council’s costs and a victim surcharge of £15, giving a total of £3,515.
The Aylesbury court heard that the premises had a poor history of compliance with food safety law, including several hygiene improvement notices being served on them and previous pest problems with rats. Aggravating factors included the fact that Mr Miah and his staff had received food hygiene training and were therefore fully aware of the health risk posed by cockroaches. Despite this they chose to carry on trading instead of eliminating the health risk to customers at their 110 seat restaurant.
However the court noted the owners’ early guilty plea and that their last business account report stated the company runs at a loss when deciding the level of fine, which could have been up to £5,000 per offence.
Wycombe District Council’s Cabinet Member for Wellbeing and Neighbourhoods, Councillor Jean Teesdale said: “People need to be able to trust that the food they are served has been stored and prepared in clean and safe conditions. We work hard to ensure that decent food hygiene standards are maintained in food establishments in Wycombe district and we make these available for everyone to see using the food hygiene ratings at www.mywycombe.wycombe.gov.uk.
“Quite often we can work with a business to help make the necessary improvements but in some cases like this, where there has been a persistent failure to comply with food safety legislation and where there is a risk to public health, we will take legal action. Failure to comply with Food Hygiene Regulations is a breach not only of the law, but also of the trust that local customers and visitors to our area place in local food businesses.”
All food premises registered with Wycombe District Council are regulated in accordance with the Food Law Code of Practice issued by the Food Standards Agency. You can view ratings for local restaurants, takeaways, pubs and even your local supermarket and food shop by going to www.mywycombe.wycombe.gov.uk. The ratings scheme is part of a national scheme run by the Food Standards Agency You can search for ratings at www.food.gov.uk/ratings or download the app.
The Radhuni currently has a rating of two which means “improvement necessary”.
