FORMER ECCLES TAKEAWAY OWNER FAKED HYGIENE RECORDS

The former owner of a Salford takeaway where hygiene records were faked has been prosecuted by Salford City Council.

Mr Amroodhin Ghayase, 37, of Westbourne Road, Eccles, former owner of Milano hot food takeaway, Liverpool Road, Eccles, pleaded guilty at Manchester and Salford magistrates court  on Thursday 29 June to two offences under the Food Safety and Hygiene Regulations 2013 of failing to keep a food premises clean and failing to implement and maintain permanent procedures.

He was fined £480 and ordered to pay £850 costs and a £48 victim surcharge.

The court heard that Mr Ghayase had run the business since 2019 and while in April 2022 it had a satisfactory food hygiene rating of 3, it had twice been rated 1 (unsatisfactory) before improvements were made.

On 19 April 2022 a member of the public contacted Salford City Council alleging that cooked chicken bought from Milano had made her and her partner unwell over the weekend. 

An environmental health officer visited to review cooking practices and food safety monitoring records. Although the alleged food poisoning could not be substantiated, they were concerned about the standard of cleaning and hygiene practices observed at the premises and carried out a detailed food hygiene inspection.

That inspection found that cleaning throughout the food handling areas was very poor.  Grease and food debris were building up on surfaces, wall and floor junctions and food equipment.  It was apparent that a deep clean had not been undertaken at the premises for some time. The officer returned a week later to check that cleaning had taken place but found little improvement to the cleaning. A further check a week later found standards to be better.

Although the business was completing a daily diary suggesting food safety standards were being complied with, the officer found this was clearly not the case. Hot and held food and freezer storage temperature records were being completed in advance throwing into doubt the validity of the safety monitoring records.

The wash hand basin in the preparation room was completely obstructed with food equipment, making it impossible for food handlers to effectively wash their hands.  Staff were using the sink instead of the designated wash hand basins, which is not acceptable. There were no hand towels in the dispenser in the toilet.

An area used for raw meat preparation had food equipment for ready to eat food, including a milkshake blender and a cup containing an ice cream scoop, presenting a cross-contamination risk.  There were damaged food containers in use. Had staff been carrying out proper daily checks, these issues would have been dealt with.

Mr. Ghayase is no longer the owner of Milano and the business is under new management.

Speaking after the case, Councillor Barbara Bentham, lead member for environment, neighbourhoods, sport and leisure, said:

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“Food hygiene regulations are there to protect the public and we won’t hesitate to take action against any business which fails in its duty of care.”