£6k bill for restaurant with rat droppings near food
A TAKEAWAY has been fined £6,000 after inspectors found rat droppings close to where food was stored.
Love Balti, on Langworthy Road, Salford, continued serving food to customers even after they told council officers that they would close to fix holes in the building where vermin were getting in.
The takeaway was caught after officers called the takeaway and were able to order a chicken jalfrezi the same day.
Yamin 121 Ltd, the company behind the takeaway, was found guilty of five offences under the Food Safety and Hygiene Act.
Salford Magistrates heard that environmental health officers carried out a routine inspection at the business.
They found fresh rat droppings in the upstairs store room, underneath shelves used to store food and inside a meter cupboard near the front retail counter. Food storage containers and kitchen equipment was dirty, and the standard of cleanliness throughout the building was poor.
According to the council, there was no evidence the takeaway had an effective cleaning procedure.
A pest control record advised that holes in the building needed sealing to prevent rats getting in. This advice had clearly not been followed because holes were found on the first floor of the building.
When officers returned they were told a pest control contractor had treated the problem but more, fresh rat droppings were found in the food storage room and the holes had not been sealed.
The company agreed to close to take action but when officers phoned the business that evening they were able to order a chicken jalfrezi.
When challenged by officers, company representatives denied they had continued trading but Just Eat later confirmed that Love Balti was still trading until 10.30pm on February 1 despite the agreement the day before.
The firm was also ordered to pay £1,700 in costs and a victim surcharge of £170.
Speaking after the case, Coun David Lancaster, lead member for environment and community safety, said: “It should not have taken multiple visits and legal action before the company solved these problems.
”They should have responded immediately to protect the public.
“The vast majority of Salford takeaways – 94.5 per cent – have no problems in complying with the law. The council will always take firm action against those which do not,” he said.