Exeter food outlet fined for unclean premises

The directors of an Exeter food outlet have been fined by magistrates after they admitted the premises were unclean and food hygiene standards had been breached.

In May 2016 complaints were received by Exeter City Council about Hong Cheng Limited, trading as Hometown, in St David’s Hill, Exeter.

An environmental health officer completed an unannounced visit to the newly opened premises. The conditions found led to the voluntary closure of the premises, with a number of improvements needed to be put in place before it would be allowed to reopen.

The premises and equipment were not clean, foods were being kept at temperatures that might result in a risk to health, waste was not being stored appropriately, staff were not found to be trained appropriately and food safety documentation was not in place.

During a prosecution at Exeter Magistrates Court, the court heard an outline of the facts, including evidence from transcripts in which directors Mr Shu and Mr Zhao admitted that they lacked the appropriate documents, and that the premises was unclean.

The defence accepted that they did not have the correct Haza Exeter food outlet prosecuted rd Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) procedures in place, and that the procedures that were in place were not adequate or followed at all.

The defence also commented on the cleanliness of the premises, stating that they had struggled to clean them due to the drains being blocked, which resulted in being unable to use any water.

In respect of the raw ingredients, the defence claimed that there were again no excuses for what had taken place, stating only that this was due to the sheer number of customers, and that Mr Shu and Zhao were very busy at that time.

Hong Cheng Limited was fined £1,700 following an early guilty plea, a victim surcharge of £170, and ordered to pay costs of £1,600.

Mr Shu, as director of the company, was fined £495 following a reduction for an early guilty plea and a victim surcharge of £49.

Mr Shao, as director of the company, was fined £495 following a reduction for an early guilty plea, and a victim surcharge of £49.

The total financial penalty, including costs, was £4,558.

Speaking after the case, Councillor Phil Bialyk, Exeter City Council’s Lead Councillor for Health and Wellbeing, said: “The council’s environmental health team is there to keep the public safe by ensuring that all premises in Exeter comply with the necessary hygiene standards.

“It is important that people have the confidence to know that all premises selling food in the city have the very highest standards, and the council’s dedicated team will continue to ensure that this is the case. Where standards do fall below those required, we will take immediate action to rectify the problem.”

Images courtesy of Exeter City Council.