Belfast restaurant owner fined for food hygiene offences
The owner of the Bengal Brasserie in Belfast has reportedly been fined a total of £1,750 for breaching food hygiene regulations.
Environmental health inspectors uncovered problems at the Ormeau Road business in February 2010 whilst on a routine visit. They reported a number of food hygiene offences, including:
- Cigarette butts left in the bottom of staff lockers
- Dirty and sanitary floors
- Exposed cement plaster preventing a wall from being properly cleaned
- Cooked meat stored in a poorly functioning fridge
- Raw chicken prepared on a work surface above uncovered cooked meat
- The same worktops being used to prepare both vegetables and raw meat
- Chefs aprons and kitchen cloths being dried on dirty railings at the rear of the building, in the emergency exit stairwell
- Generally poor food hygiene practices, such as preparing food in unsuitable areas
The owner of the restaurant, Mizanur Rahman, was prosecuted by Belfast City Council as a result of the hygiene and safety breaches. Rahman was also fined £1,750 and ordered to pay costs of £69.
The council’s officers have now confirmed to the court that standards have improved at the restaurant since the inspection, which could be due to improved food hygiene training within the business.