St. Albans gastro-pub fined for food hygiene breaches
A gastro-pub in St. Albans has reportedly been fined over £10,000 for food hygiene and health and safety breaches, after failing to take action on advice issued by environmental health offices.
The owners of The Cock, a popular establishment located on the corner of Hatfield Road and St. Peter’s Street in St. Albans, were found guilty at Watford Magistrates Court of four offences relating to food hygiene. It is not clear whether these are related to improper food hygiene training or other legislation breaches, but the charges resulted in a £5,000 fine.
The pub was also fined a further £5,000 for health and safety breaches, as well as being ordered to pay £1,792 in court costs and a victim surcharge. These fines were actually a third of what District Council Environmental Health prosecutors asked for, being reduced because The Cock’s owners pleaded guilty, had no previous convictions and also sought help from food safety specialists in getting the business up to standard.
Speaking of the case, Councillor Chris Oxley said:
“St Albans is proud of the fact that for centuries we have been a ‘destination’ centre for visitors from all over the world. We pride ourselves in having some wonderful eating establishments.
“Under no circumstances will we allow our top class reputation to be tarnished by establishments that abuse food hygiene and associated legislation.”