Possible £115,000 fine for food safety breaches
A hotel in the forest of Dean and its owner are facing prosecution for a total of twenty-three counts of failure to comply with food hygiene regulations. Seven of these failures relate to food hygiene compliance notices that had been issued to the business previously.
Inspectors found that warnings had been ignored, however, as they discovered:
- That the absence of adequate cleaning throughout the kitchen had resulted in a build-up of grease, dirt and food remain.
- The extraction fan had not been cleaned and had grease leaking out of the fan and dripping down the wall.
- Equipment used for food preparation was not kept in a hygiene state.
Now facing a potential fine of £115,000 for the breaches, the restaurant’s future could be in jeopardy if the prosecution is successful. Even basic food safety training would have equipped employees with the knowledge and skills needed to keep the kitchens in a hygienic and safe condition. The failure to do so will certainly have a devastating effect on the hotel’s finances – both in terms of the possible fines and future customs.