Restaurant owner fined

A Narborough restaurant owner has been ordered to pay more than £3,000 in fines and costs after admitting his premises was in breach of a raft of food safety and environmental health regulations.

Mohammed Shahin Miah, who runs the Cardamom Lounge on Leicester Road, pleaded guilty to nine offences when he appeared before the bench at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on 6 December.

The case was brought to court by Blaby District Council following findings by environmental health officers during routine inspections and follow-ups.

After pleading guilty Miah was fined £1,066 and was ordered to pay costs of £1,540 and a victim surcharge of £426, totalling £3,032.

The nine charges included failing to keep food at the right temperature, failing to reheat or thaw food properly, having a dirty premises and staff lacking in personal cleanliness and failing to ensure food was protected from contamination likely to make it unfit for human consumption.

In essence the nine offences highlighted that on more than one occasion Miah had showed a disregard for food safety even after having been warned.

When sentencing the Magistrates recognised the serious public health risks to consumers posed by the substandard food safety and hygiene practices. They noted it was only down to luck that no one had fallen ill as a result.

Substandard practices which gave rise to the offences involved leaving high risk foods such as cooked meats out of the fridge overnight and having dirty equipment.

Staff had poor personal hygiene and were poorly trained and supervised. Officers also found there was a lack of adequate management controls.

Following numerous visits and advice from the Council’s environmental health team the restaurant has now improved. It currently has a hygiene rating of 3 – meaning standards are generally satisfactory.