Chinese Takeaway Sanctioned for Unsafe Hygiene Practices

A Coventry takeaway was found with filthy food preparation areas after an unannounced inspection, and the owner was found guilty of a number of offences.

Mrs Liang Zheng, the operator of the CV4-based restaurant Chef Wang was sentenced on the 12th of March at Coventry Magistrates Court to a 12-month conditional discharge. The operator was also fined over £3,400 and ordered to pay £26 to a victim who ate at the restaurant.

When food & safety officers visited the premises on the 7th June 2023, they found several hygiene violations. When questioned, Mrs Zheng did not appear to see the issue with their practices. The officers found:

·      Flies throughout the preparation area

·      Wash hand basins not in use

·      Dirty cloths used for cleaning

The Food Business Operator is the person ultimately responsible for ensuring that hygiene standards are upheld within the restaurant, including the maintaining of a sanitary working environment and the hygienic storage and preparation of food items.

Subsequent unannounced visits in 2024 revealed that the restaurant hadn’t changed their ways, and they were given a rating of 1, meaning that ‘major improvement is necessary’. Mrs Zhang pleaded guilty to following three offences under the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations:

·      Failure to keep the premises clean

·      Failure to protect food from contamination

·      Failure to implement and maintain a permanent procedure or procedures based on the HACCP principles

Councillor Khan, Cabinet Member for Policing and Equalities said:

“This is a reminder to all Food Business Operators to ensure they have a clean kitchen with suitably trained staff undertaking regular and thorough cleaning every day to prevent a problem like this occurring and putting customers at a risk to their health”.