Restaurant fined £12,000 for breaching food safety regulations
A Kettering restaurant has been fined over £12,000 for failing to adhere to food safety regulations.
An inspection on 25 August 2015 found that Anema & Core, trading as Heart and Soul restaurant, had begun trading without notifying the local authority, avoiding an inspection prior to opening.
Numerous food safety issues were identified at the Italian restaurant, such as cheeses and cooked meats which were condemned and destroyed due to a lack of traceability. The environmental health officers also found that there were no documented Food Safety Management Systems in place.
The Italian restaurant was issued a Hygiene Improvement Notice on 7 October 2015 and another was given on 11 November 2015 when the restaurant failed to comply.
Russ Howell, health services manager for Kettering Borough Council, said: "Despite both informal and formal action there continued to be a failure to comply with food safety legislation leaving the authority with no option but to take legal action. The court has fined the company a significant amount which will hopefully serve as a message to other food businesses that the safe preparation of food for the public is taken extremely seriously by the courts and this authority.
"While we will continue to support and advise those businesses who wish to comply with the law, we will use all of the powers available to us where businesses persistently fail to do so."
At Northampton Magistrates Court on 23 August 2016, Kettering Borough Council ordered Anema & Core to pay £12,000 in fines, alongside costs of £900 to be paid with a victim surcharge of £120.
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