Restaurant passes new inspection
Had closed over hygiene
AFTER making extensive improvements to the premises since it was forced to close on October 24, The Mugal E Shahi restaurant in The Rushes, Loughborough has passed an inspection this week and officers have deemed it no longer presents a risk to health.
Charnwood Borough Council’s food safety team issued the business with Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice on October 24 which forced the business to close immediately after it failed to meet food safety and hygiene regulations.
The council now says that the owners of the business have carried out extensive improvement works over the past week, whilst the business has been closed. These include the installation of a new roof to the rear of the premises, introducing adequate measures to stop rodents entering the premises and extensive cleaning and disinfection of the premises.
Officers have issued the business with a certificate that the health risk no longer exists at the premises.
A council spokesperson said: “We will continue to closely monitor the business to ensure that hygiene standards are compliant with food safety legal requirements.”
Charnwood Borough Council served The Mugal E Shahi in Loughborough with a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice on October 24 after officers discovered poor food safety and hygiene practices throughout the premises during a routine inspection.
The notice forced the business to close immediately.
During the inspection, officers found that preventative measures to stop rodents entering the premises were inadequate and an active pest control contract was not in place. Mouse droppings were found throughout the premises including in a bag of ready to eat pickles and chutney containers.
Officers also found the standard of hygiene was very poor and discovered filthy conditions inside the chiller including mould growing on shelves and dirty fans blowing onto open food in the chiller, presenting a risk of contamination to food. Dirty cleaning cloths were also found.
The council officers said they were left with no choice but to implement emergency procedures as they considered that there was an imminent risk of injury to the public.
On October 29, Leicester Magistrates’ Court agreed with the actions of the officers and issued a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Order, prohibiting the premises from opening until there is no longer an imminent risk of injury posed by the state of the premises. The court also ordered the business to pay £1,000 costs.
Following the case, Coun Margaret Smidowicz, lead member for regulatory services at Charnwood Borough Council, said: “Businesses who serve food to the public need to ensure they understand and follow the rules around food hygiene and safety as they are there to protect people’s health.
“I hope this is a reminder to all food businesses in the borough that we take food hygiene and safety very seriously and we will not hesitate to take action if we think there is a risk to the general public.”