Two Turkish men who ran a village chip shop which now has a zero food hygiene rating were each hit with fines totalling £1,536 on Tuesday, October 8.
But Sebahattin Yelesen, 38, of Dyserth Fish Bar in High Street, Dyserth, Denbighshire, and Mohammed Yilmaz, 33, of Welsh Road, Garden City, Deeside, who had ceased involvement with the business two years ago according to a defence solicitor, must also both pay £3,190 costs.
They had been convicted by magistrates at Llandudno of six offences in the summer of 2018 under Food Hygiene regulations and the Food Safety Act.
A photograph of the damaged wall surface adjacent to the sink unit in the domestic kitchen taken on the July 9 2018. Pictures: All - Denbighshire County Council
Court chairwoman Carol Ashton told the pair: "These are serious offences. They were a flagrant disregard of the law and of notices to improve which have a potential to cause harm to the public.”
Julia Longworth, prosecuting for Denbighshire county council, said: "The premises didn’t have to be closed. There was no evidence of any direct harm being suffered by any member of the public or employee.”
A photograph of crumbling plaster to the lower wall surface adjacent to the external door in the main kitchen taken on the July 9 2018
She said there were poor hygiene procedures with raw meat stored next to cooked meat, food past its sell-by date and flies in the kitchen, and a strong smell of cigarette smoke.
A council official had carried out a food hygiene scoring inspection when Yilmaz requested a reassessment following a rating of two out of five. But it went down to one because major improvement was needed.
A photograph of flaking paint to the upper wall surface in the domestic kitchen taken on the July 9 2018
John Owens, defending, said Yelesen had run the takeaway since 2002. But in 2018 a new member of staff from the council turned up and made a lengthy list of recommendations.
“There was a lack of consistency in the approach of Denbighshire county council. Extensive work has been done since July 2018 because Mr Yelesen wants to carry on his business,” the solicitor said.
“He understands, through these hard lessons, he must comply with the law."
Taken on August 7 2018 of full bins that are not in a good state of repair and the lid is missing to one bin
Following the outcome, a spokesman for Denbighshire County Council said: “We are pleased with the outcome of this court case.
A photograph of raw meats being stored above ready to eat foods i.e. defrosting raw beef burgers, raw fish and raw meats on skewers being stored above an opened container of mayonnaise and gala melons taken on the August 7 2018
"This successful prosecution shows the Council’s commitment to ensure food businesses are complying with the law.
"We continue to support businesses to comply, however this case sends out a strong message to those food businesses that do not take food hygiene seriously, that we will take action to protect the health of our residents and visitors."
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