A Sandown takeaway has been ordered to pay thousands of pounds in fines and costs following an Isle of Wight Council prosecution for a string of food hygiene failures.
Fat Harry’s Ltd, the company behind Fat Harry’s fish and chip shop in High Street, was fined £4,000 while the manager at the time of the offences, Gary Beaumont, and a named director, Susan Cotton, were each fined £853 and £250 respectively after pleading guilty to six food hygiene charges.
The breaches relate to a visit from an environmental health inspector on 7th December 2018.
A string of offences
Offences included failing to keep the premises clean — including food equipment — failing to ensure the wash hand basin had materials for drying hands and failing to ensure the floor and ceiling were maintained in a sound condition.
The court heard there had been at least seven visits by inspectors since 2010 and all — apart from one in 2011 when the premises were given a four star rating — found that improvement was needed.
Offences occurred over prolonged period of time
Magistrates said the offences were aggravated by the fact they occurred over a prolonged period of time. They said a food hygiene rating of three stars was the minimum they would expect to see.
In addition to the fines, each defendant was ordered to pay £639 towards prosecution costs and a victim surcharge.
Gregory: “Why we took the decision to prosecute”
Speaking after the case, Amanda Gregory, the council’s strategic manager for regulatory and community safety services, said:
“Hygiene and safety standards are there to protect the health and safety of people that eat from food premises.
“The environmental health department has a good track record of working with businesses to resolve issues around food hygiene and safety for the benefit of the business and their customers.
“Sadly, despite many inspections, advice and formal notices from our officers over the years, this case wasn’t one that we were able to gain a sustained improvement, which is why we took the decision to prosecute.”
News shared by the Isle of Wight council press office. Ed
