Another restaurant with no pest control and extremely poor hygiene is closed by the council in Birmingham. The article is from yesterdays Birmingham Mail. Read the story…
A Birmingham Chinese restaurant which was found to be ‘an imminent risk to public health’ after inspectors found it was infested with cockroaches.
The Village Café in Ladywell Walk, city centre, was instantly closed down by officers concerned at the proble
Environmental health officers visited the Chinese takeaway restaurant on 21 July 21 last year, and, shocked at their findings, immediately got a a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice on the same day – forcing the owners to shut down.
The court heard that the owners stated it employed a pest control company to treat and control pests at the premises, but environmental health team said they found no evidence of this during their visit.
When officers returned to The Village Café two days later, they decided there was still an imminent risk to public health as cockroaches both adult and young were found in the kitchen.
Mark Croxford, Head of Environmental Health for Birmingham City Council, said: “People should be able to have confidence in the safety of the food served and cleanliness of any food business in Birmingham – regardless of whether it’s a takeaway or a posh restaurant.
“When officers found evidence of an active cockroach infestation throughout the kitchen at The Village Café on 21 July 2014, they closed it immediately on public health grounds.
“We want the city’s food businesses to thrive and as such our officers work closely with premises to ensure they achieve the necessary standards required to operate safely.”
SMT Village Café Ltd pleaded guilty of two offences under the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 and was ordered to pay £1,000 in fines, £876 towards costs and a £100 victim surcharge.
Following the formal closure, the company signed a contract with a pest control firm to carry out treatment to control and eradicate cockroaches.
Officers allowed SMT Village Café Ltd to reopen its food business on July 24 after a second revisit, when they found the premises to be free of pests.
The food business was last inspected in March this year, when it regained its Food Standards Agency rating of 3, which means it is generally satisfactory.
