Fined for poor hygiene

The business was not kept clean and maintained in a good condition and staff were not adequately trained.

David Stickley, prosecuting on behalf of Kirklees Council, told Kirklees Magistrates’ Court that 41-year-old Iqbal has run Grillish since 2012. The business has undergone a number of routine council inspections since.

In August 2016 poor standards of hygiene were observed and the takeaway received a zero rating on the Scores on the Doors website. In September last year council officials visited again and the rating was slightly improved: one out of five, with Iqbal given advice on the issues.

Many of these had not been resolved by the next visit and a decision was made to issue the business with a hygiene improvement notice, giving Iqbal a set amount of time to carry out improvements.

When these were still not complied with Iqbal, of St John’s Road in Birkby, was invited to an interview with the council.

Mr Stickley said: “The defendant accepted that he received the notice and did understand what he needed to do. He accepted that the standards of cleaning at the premises were poor.”

When little improvement was noticed during another visit, Iqbal was interviewed again but failed to say why he was yet to make the necessary changes.

Iqbal has already been fined for two charges brought under the Food Safety Act. He sold a Trading Standards test purchaser a mutton seekh kebab containing a mixture of cow, sheep and chicken DNA.

Iqbal blamed the supplier he bought the products from for not correctly informing him what the meat was.

Now he has told magistrates that he “totally agreed” with the facts of the case but has since sold the business on as he is unwell.

Magistrates fined the father-offour £349 and ordered him to pay £1,967 prosecution costs and a £34 victim surcharge.