£9,000 fine over dirty kitchen

Owners of a Telford restaurant were today ordered to pay more than £12,000 after health inspectors discovered out-of-date food and a dirty kitchen at the premises.The owners of Sidoli & Sons were fined £9,000 by magistrates after admitting three food hygiene offences in court today. They were also ordered to pay £3,027 in costs.

Health inspectors visited the kitchen at the Sidoli-owned La Fontana restaurant in Telford Shopping Centre on December 3 last year, where they found a dirty and greasy kitchen.

Mrs Lorraine Fowkes, prosecuting on behalf of Telford & Wrekin Council, told magistrates one bag of stir-fry was a day out of date and two more bags were found to be three days out of date.

Chicken fillets in the kitchen were two days out of date and a joint of beef which had been in the freezer was dated August 2007. She said meat should only be frozen for up to three months.

Mrs Fowkes told Telford Magistrates Court, the company had been issued with two warnings before the visit which sparked the court action.

"It was a long-term issue rather than a temporary lax of standards," she said. "Adequate cleaning had not been taken for some tome."

Magistrates were told there was a "real risk" of food contamination from the dirty kitchen.

Mrs Fowkes said the company bosses had no previous convictions.

The court heard food was found under the deep fat fryer and cooker, the floor was "covered in grease" and there was "dirt on wheels and handles of equipment".

She said "congealed matter" was found on the coffee machine and the slush/smoothy machine.

Chris Baker, representing D Sidoli & Sons (Shrewsbury), said the firm admitted failing to ensure the food premises were kept clean.

He also admitted the company failed to ensure the articles and fittings were effectively cleaned and that food items found in the kitchen were out of date.

Mr Baker said the company "fully accepted there was a serious management failure".

He said a visit by environmental health inspectors in March this year had proved they had since changed their standards.

By Kirsty Marston