TWO BUSINESSES, both operated by the same company, in Reading have been fined nearly £60,000 for major health and safety breaches, Reading Borough Council has announced.
Kenya Butchers and Just Fresh, both run by KBH Meats, were found by Reading Environmental Health officers to be operating under very unsafe conditions– the second time for the former shop.
KBH Meats Ltd and Mr Mohammed Ayub were prosecuted for offences at the business, both located in West Street, on May 2, at Reading Magistrates Court.
KBH Meats pleaded guilty to eight food hygiene offences and four health and safety offences.
It was fined £36,300, plus the Council’s full costs of £7,310, a victim surcharge of £14,520 as a result of its practises.
It was also made to pay compensation of £200 for an injury caused to an officer at their premises.
Mr Ayub, manager of both businesses, also pleaded guilty to eight separate food hygiene offences and three health and safety offences.
He was fined £3,932 and ordered to pay the victim surcharge of £1,576.
Reading Magistrates imposed total financial penalties of £58,330 on KBH Meats and £5,508 on Mr Ayub, however, as credit for their guilty pleas, Mr Ayub’s fine was reduced by a third, and the fine for KHB Meats Ltd was reduced by 50%.
Reading’s Food and Safety team explains it will continue to work with the business operator and their staff to ensure standards are met.
The court heard that Kenya Butchers had been formally closed in February last year due to a serious rat infestation at the premises.
Environmental Health officers made multiple follow-up inspection visits over the following months to monitor the improvements required to be made by the business operator, but identified a number of ongoing offences which posed health risks.
These included a poor standard of cleaning and maintenance at the premises, high-risk food not being stored under temperature control, inadequate waste disposal, and insufficient handwashing facilities for staff,
Staff were also found working unsupervised and without sufficient training in food hygiene matters.
Staff were observed to handle raw meat and then operate the till without washing their hands, and old meat was also left in the nozzle of a meat mincing machine.
Officers observed staff using the bandsaw to cut meat, with hands and fingers dangerously close to the moving blade which had no working safety guard.
Staff using the bandsaw had not received any training on how to use it safely, and no risk assessment had been carried out.
A wooden panel, which had been poorly constructed and installed, was being used to slide food products from the ground floor to the basement of the shop.
The panel also caused significant bruising to an inspecting officer when it fell across the staircase, trapping her legs against the wall.
Elsewhere, the walk-in freezer was found to have a heavy build-up of ice on the floor due to a leaking evaporation unit, posing a significant slip hazard.
Despite all of the continued breaches at Kenya Butchers, operators opened a second shop on the same street, Just Fresh, in May last year.
Following up on information from staff at Kenya Butchers, officers made several requests to KBH Meats to register the new business, which was eventually done in July last year, weeks after it had already begun trading.
The legal requirement for new food businesses is to register with the local authority at least 28 days before trading.
Overall, KBH Meats Ltd and Mr Ayub pleaded guilty to twelve separate breaches.
Cllr Ruth McEwan, Lead Councillor for Public Health and Education, said: “The Council’s diligent Environmental Health officers work hard to protect the public and, in this particular instance, intervened in a case, intervening in what was a dangerously run business and brought forward a successful prosecution, securing one of the highest fines for an offence of its type in Reading.
“Poor food hygiene standards can cause serious illnesses and, in this case, the operators demonstrated a flagrant lack of care and responsibility to their customers, employees, and the wider public.
“The safety and well-being of our residents and visitors is our top priority, and we expect all food businesses to uphold the highest food safety and hygiene standards.
“As always, officers will work closely with businesses where any breaches are identified, but will not hesitate to bring forward the necessary legal action against those who consistently put the public at risk.”
