Company fined £30,000 for a string of food offences
Another company in Southall has been found to be in breach of hygiene rules after mouse droppings were found near the food packing area.
M & M Food and Snacks Limited of Featherstone Industrial Estate, Southall, was found guilty of 12 food hygiene offences and four failures to comply with hygiene improvement notices at Uxbridge Magistrates Court on Friday 10 August.
The company was fined £21,000 and ordered to pay the council’s costs of £9,515.35. The company was also prohibited from participating in the management of any food business until a further court order.
M & M operated a small factory which produced cheap sandwiches and snacks sold to shops across the UK. Environmental health officers visited the business in March 2011 after they had received complaints about the food from as far afield as Gateshead and Reigate.
On their visit, officers found the factory to be in a filthy and smelly state with mouse droppings throughout the premises, including on a table in the area where the sandwiches were packed. No-one was supervising the food production and the food safety records that should have been kept were either non-existent or completely inadequate. They were temporarily closed down.
Officers visited the factory twice more over the spring and summer to see if improvements had been made. Although the company had made changes in some areas, in others, the situation had actually worsened so a decision was made to prosecute them.
Councillor Ranjit Dheer, cabinet member for Community Services and Safety, said: “We take a very strong stance against businesses that break our food hygiene rules and this is another successful prosecution for our team.
“This company’s attitude to public health and food safety is appalling and it’s right that they should be handed this large fine. This should serve as a warning to anyone who thinks they can get away with running a sub-standard food business in Ealing.”
Anyone who is concerned that a business is breaching food hygiene regulations should email foodsafety@ealing.gov.uk or call 020 8825 6666.
Visit www.ealing.gov.uk/foodhygiene for information about food hygiene.
28th August 2012