Fish bar pair fined over uncooked chicken kebab
The owner and manager of a fish bar who gave a customer uncooked chicken in a kebab, have been fined hundreds of pounds.
Bakshinder Chatha and Harpreet Chatha both admitted two charges of selling food which was not of the quality demanded by a purchaser and failing to comply with food hygiene requirements on March 3, 2019.
Bakshinder Chatha said she is the owner of the Llanfair Fish Bar on Bridge Street, Llanfair Caereinion, while Harpreet Chatha manages the business.
Prosecuting for Powys County Council at Llandrindod Wells Magistrates Court on Wednesday, Mr Rob Brown said that on March 3, a customer went to the fish bar and ordered a chicken kebab and chips with mayonnaise.
The customer said a man was working there alone and he noticed that the meat was being cut quite deep rather than straight down, and he could see some pink bits of meat.
The food was placed in a box and wrapped in paper and the customer left. At home he opened the food and noticed a quantity of the chicken was uncooked.
Mr Brown said the customer contacted the Environmental Health Department at Powys County Council and officers collected the food from him on March 4. The officers noted the pink meat, which was also wet and translucent.
Analysis
Council officers then attended at the shop and noted the server was not wearing any protective clothing and had poor food hygiene knowledge and processes. The food safety management system was not being adhered to and no food safety procedures appeared to be in place.
The court was told the fish bar currently has a one food hygiene rating and Mrs Chatha and Mr Chatha are involved in various establishments in Powys and Shropshire and have worked in the industry for years.
Mr Brown said they had failed to ensure that staff running the shop were adequately trained and they did not ensure that they stuck to food safety requirements. He said the meat was sent away for analysis and the tests confirmed that the chicken was not adequately cooked.
Mrs Chatha and Mr Chatha presented the magistrates with a letter and said at the moment the business is running at a loss.
Mrs Chatha said they were both sorry that the matter had gone this far.
Magistrates fined both of them £440 each for serving the uncooked chicken and £440 each for failing to comply with food hygiene requirements. They were also both ordered to pay £250 costs and a £44 surcharge each.
