Birmingham restaurant fined for food safety breaches
The owners of a restaurant in Birmingham have been fined for food hygiene and safety breaches after rodents were discovered on the premises.
Officers from the local council’s environmental health department first visited the Kebabish Original restaurant in August 2009 after a customer complained of food poisoning. They found:
- Evidence that the property was infested with rodents
- Raw meat left on the floor
- Mice droppings are kept next to cooking equipment and food
The owners of the business, Bilal and Awais Anwar, are apparently committed to improving standards at the eatery. However, a subsequent inspection in November 2009 revealed that standards had again dropped and improvement notices have been breached.
The Anwars were charged with five violations of food hygiene regulations, which they initially denied. After changing their plea in a follow-up hearing, the couple were fined a total of £7,500 for charges which included selling food unfit for human consumption.
District Judge Mark Jabbit told the couple:
” You knew of the condition of the premises.
You were exposing customers to a very real risk of food poisoning.”
The breaches found at Kebabish Original were likely to have been a result of insufficient food hygiene training, a course which every restaurant owner should undertake.