Unfit, mouldy food costs pub more than £1,500
Out-of-date and unfit, mouldy food, poor cleanliness and a lack of food safety management system were found at the Bull Inn, Gristhorpe, North Yorkshire, by environmental health officers.
The inspectors carried out a revisit to the pub in May, to check compliance with legal requirements following a routine unannounced inspection in April, which resulted in the business receiving a score of one on the food hygiene rating system.
The officer found a number of food products that were either past the manufacturer’s or packer’s use-by date, had no indication of shelf life or were unfit with white mould growth on the food.
Dirty condition
The kitchen was also found to be in a dirty condition, especially around the cooking and pot-washing area and there was no evidence of an effective food-safety management system.
The pub was visited four times while it was open to the public and serving food, including the initial inspection and on each occasion a variety of food items were found to be out of date or had no indication of shelf life.
The pub’s owner Darran Geary pleaded guilty to three food-hygiene offences at Scarborough Magistrates’ Court on 11 August.
He was ordered to pay a £600 fine, prosecution costs of £875 and a £60 victim surcharge - a total of £1,535.
Scarborough Borough Council environment and regulation manager Jonathan Bramley said it was disappointing that despite considerable time and effort spent educating and advising Geary, he repeatedly failed to heed to advice.
Taking action
He added: “This was a clear breach of the food-hygiene legislation, which is in place to protect the public. The use-by date of a food product is the date until which the manufacturer or producer of the food guarantees it is safe to eat.
“Food sold beyond the use-by date is considered unfit for human consumption and this is an offence. As part of the food-safety management system it is expected that the food-business operator will be competent at stock control, understand the significance of use-by dates and discard food that has passed the use-by date.”
Bramley also said food businesses were responsible for ensuring their sites were kept clean and maintained in good repair and condition to ensure food is produced in a safe and hygienic manner, in a clean environment.
He added: “We will take action against any food business that does not comply with food-safety requirements.”
The Morning Advertiser contacted the Bull Inn, but no response was forthcoming at the time of publishing this article.
