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£25K fine to pub!

Posted on Thursday 1st July 2010

lA pub chain has been fined £25,000 after inspectors discovered filthy conditions at its city centre pub. The kitchen at O'Neills, in Loseby Lane, Leicester, was found to have dirt and grime around fridges, a mouldy ice dispenser, dirty and unsafe floors, and ventilators coated with grease.

Leicester magistrates also heard it had inadequate pest-proofing, a dirty griddle and grimy walls and light switches. Pigeon feathers were also found in a vent during the June 2009 spot-check.

City council environmental health officer Su Clement said an independent audit paid for by the company last year had also shown poor standards of food safety. Pub chain Mitchells and Butlers ? which has since cleaned up the pub and spent thousands on new ventilation ? have recently admitted five counts of breaching food hygiene regulations.

It was fined £5,000 for each of the five breaches ? the maximum magistrates can impose. The pub chain was also ordered to pay £2,950 in costs.

After the hearing, Miss Clement said: "We are very pleased with the fine and that the court recognised the seriousness of the offences.
"It's a very busy pub and a very big pub and there was no excuse for the conditions."

Magistrate Bill Liquorish said: "We deem this to be a highly serious offence for such a large national, or international company.
"We believe the offences warrant a higher financial penalty than we can give. But because of the early guilty plea, we have decided to keep the fines within the powers of this court."

Claire Lamont, representing the pub chain, said it was "rare and regrettable" for standards to drop so low at a company that runs 2,000 pubs and restaurants and serves 100 million meals a year.

She told magistrates: "The company appreciates that staff did not follow training and did not implement cleaning policies as they should have done.

"The company does not seek to excuse the circumstances, but there was no evidence of an imminent risk to public health."
In a statement, the chain said: "We recognise that, for a short period some 12 months ago, standards in cleanliness and maintenance at the pub were below those expected by the company and we acted quickly to rectify this.

"We undertook a comprehensive review of all food hygiene practices at the pub to reinforce the high standards of food safety that we require and all staff received additional training.

"At the time, £25,000 was invested in a new extraction system in the kitchen and this year a further £85,000 has been spent on enhancing the front and back of house.

"Today, 12 months on, we are confident that the pub meets the highest standards in food hygiene and our customers can be assured that their meals are carefully prepared, cooked and served."