Food Safety: Alliance Fish Marketing Ltd fined £2250 for Food Hygiene Offences

Alliance Fish Marketing Ltd, owners of Alliance Fish and Ocean Pantry on West Pier, Scarborough have been fined £2250 after pleading guilty to food hygiene offences at Scarborough Magistrates Court.

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Environmental Health Officer, Daffyd Baker, visited Alliance Fish/Ocean Pantry in March 2011 to carry out a routine food hygiene inspection. During this visit, staff admitted to boiling crabs in an adjacent storage area. The court was told that the room was inappropriate for use as a food preparation area, having concrete floors, bare brick walls and ceilings, which were not capable of being adequately cleaned as well as being used as a general storage area for items such as a bicycle, building sand and cement.

 The inspection also revealed a large container of ice, used for packing fish and used in the fish display counter, was stored uncovered, outside on the West Pier and open to contamination from bird droppings etc. Open boxes of iced fish which were also stored outside on the pier and open to the risk of contamination. In addition there was no food safety management system for boiling crabs and the food safety management system covering the other processes was not being effectively implemented.

Steve Pogson, Health & Community Safety Manager said ‘Despite previous warnings, Alliance Fish Marketing Ltd continued to boil crabs in an area which was completely unsuitable for this purpose. The production of boiled crabs is a high risk activity in terms of food safety and if done incorrectly and without adequate controls in place can lead to unsafe food being placed on the market. Other businesses have had to invest a significant amount of money and time ensuring that they comply with the law and therefore produce food safely.  It is hoped that this outcome will send out a warning that there can be no short cuts with food safety and businesses that flout the law will be prosecuted’.

On the 12th August 2011, at Scarborough Magistrates Court, Alliance Fish Marketing Ltd pleaded guilty with a £2250 fine (£750 each offence), £150 costs and a £15 vicim surcharge, a total charge of £2415.