‘Dirty’ Liverpool restaurant closed by environmental health
A restaurant in Liverpool city centre has been closed down by the local authority’s environmental health officers after it was found to be putting the health of its customers at risk.
The Buffet Star restaurant, a self-service buffet specialising in Thai and Chinese cuisine, was inspected several times by officers from Liverpool City Council between March and October 2012. On each visit, serious breaches of food safety regulations such as the following were uncovered:
- Lack of routine cleaning in areas where food was prepared, handled and stored
- Raw eggs and defrosting poultry are kept next to ready to eat and cooked food products
- Evidence of rat droppings on the premises
- Staff handling food had poor personal hygiene, wore unclean clothing and had little or no food hygiene training
Due to the conditions found at the restaurant, environmental health officers immediately ordered it to be closed for the protection of public health. After pleading guilty to a total of 20 breaches of the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006, the managing director of Buffet Star Ltd Jung Wai Hui was fined £24,000. The company was also ordered to pay court costs exceeding £5,000.