The owner of the Hot and Spice Takeaway on Broadway, Bedford has been fined £10,000 after pleading guilty at Bedford Magistrates Court on Tuesday 28th June to a number of food hygiene and health and safety offences.
Prosecution proceedings were instigated following a visit from Bedford Borough Councils’ Environmental Health Officers to the takeaway in June 2010.
Officers found the kitchen areas to be extremely dirty and there was evidence of inadequate cleaning and disinfection. Other matters included a serious concern over the potential for food contamination, which could have easily led to food poisoning of unsuspecting customers.
There were also serious concerns relating to both the gas and electrical installations that were found to be dangerous. Numerous enforcement notices were issued to the owner, Mr Qamar Iqbal, but these were not complied with and legal action through the courts was then pursued. Non compliance of two food hygiene notices and two health and safety notices each attracted a fine of £2500.
Deputy Mayor Charles Royden, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Transport commented: “This takeaway put the public’s health at risk and showed a total disregard for food safety legal requirements. Bedford Borough Council takes these matters very seriously and as such, formal action was necessary to be taken by our Environmental Health team. Such action along with the recent instigation of the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme demonstrates that residents and visitors to Bedford can have confidence in where they eat as can be seen on the Council’s food hygiene rating web pages.”
Approximately 300 eateries out of the 1700 food premises in Bedford Borough have been rated under the new Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. To find out more about the new scheme and to see the food hygiene grades of establishments in your area that have been assessed please visit http://www.ratings.food.gov.uk/
