Chinese takeaway fined £2,000 for food hygiene offences

And when environmental health officers from Rugby Borough Council inspected the kitchen at Chen's Takeaway, a string of further food hygiene breaches were discovered.

Bang Yu Lin, owner of the takeaway in Abbey Street, pleaded guilty to seven food hygiene offences when she appeared before magistrates at Nuneaton's Warwickshire Justice Centre on Tuesday (July 4).

The court heard council officers visited the takeaway in April after receiving a complaint about the state of the back garden.

The officers entered the garden by the back gate and found a pair of large metal bowls full of cooked pork on the path.

Flies were hovering over the bowls and the garden was full of rubbish.

When asked about the meat, a member of staff told the officers the pork was hot and had been placed outside to cool.

While in the garden, officers found filters for the takeaway's extraction unit stored on top of a dirty, broken washing machine.

Once inside the kitchen, the extraction canopy was found to be covered in dirt and grease deposits, while food waste was discovered behind the cooking range.

Sieves for draining fried food were dirty and stored in a filthy container, draws in a freezer were cracked and broken, and the door seals of the kitchen's chiller were split, dirty and mouldy.

Officers also found staff were failing to follow the takeaway's food safety management system and had a poor understanding of food hygiene principles.

Speaking through an interpreter in court, Miss Yu Lin said her brother had been running the takeaway while she was in China, but stressed she took full responsibility for the hygiene breaches.

She told magistrates she intended to improve standards at the takeaway and implement all the recommendations of the council's environmental health team.

But after hearing Yu Lin had ignored advice from environmental health officers following an inspection in September 2016, magistrates fined her £295 for each offence - a total of £2,065.

The 38-year-old, of Holly Road, Birmingham, was also ordered to pay £1,000 costs and a victim surcharge of £30.

Speaking after the hearing, Cllr Lisa Parker, Rugby Borough Council portfolio holder for environment and public realm, said: "Food businesses which cut corners on hygiene put the health and safety of customers at risk.

"We regularly inspect all food premises in the borough and offer advice on how businesses can implement the necessary measures to meet hygiene standards.

"Businesses which choose to ignore our advice risk prosecution and an expensive day in court."

Businesses can contact the council's food safety team on (01788) 533851 or email foodsafety@rugby.gov.uk

Residents can check the food hygiene ratings of takeaways, restaurants and cafes in the borough at the Food Standards Agency website - ratings.food.gov.uk