Morecambe takeaway operator fined thousands for poor hygiene

Ming Qin Chen from the Magic Wok, pleaded guilty to offences under the Food Safety Act of 1990 when he appeared before magistrates in Lancaster on Monday (January 18).

The court heard that routine food hygiene inspections carried out on September 29 2014, January 5 2015 and April 27 2015, revealed numerous contraventions of food hygiene and a poor history of compliance.

The offences included poor standards and structure and risk of cross contamination.

Poor temperature control of cooked rice was noted as a particular failing which was reflected in the Magistrates imposing a single fine of £500 for this offence alone.

In total he was fined £1,800, ordered to pay £1,000 in costs and a £120 victim surcharge.

Karen Leytham, cabinet member for Lancaster City Council, said: “We are pleased with the outcome of the prosecution and this sends a strong message to food businesses that they must take food hygiene and safety seriously.

“I am proud that we have good standards of compliance with our local food businesses, with around 95 percent of them reaching a broadly compliant standard for good safety and having a Food Hygiene Rating of three or above. However, where we find poor standards of food hygiene and safety, we will not hesitate to take enforcement action against those responsible.

“I would like to take this opportunity to remind the public that all food businesses supplying food to the public are awarded a rating of 0 to 5 on the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme.”

The ratings for individual food businesses are available from the Food Standards Agency website at www.food.gov.uk.