Staffordshire takeaway that claimed to be ‘the best’ fined £30k after reports of rats and filthy kitchen

A former food business that described itself as ‘the best Indian takeaway in Stafford’ has been ordered to pay more than £30,000 for a series of hygiene failures.

Stafford Borough Council stepped in after a report of rats outside the premises of Zinga Indian Restaurant in Gnosall - a village between Newport and Stafford - and rubbish being left next to food in the kitchen.

An inspection revealed a catalogue of poor hygiene issues including dirty chopping boards used for preparing vegetables, unclean kitchen surfaces, not hot water in the staff hand washing basin, and cracked and dirty food storage containers.

The business, Gnosall Limited was trading as Zinga and had a sole company director, Yaqub Ali. The company was fined £20,000, ordered to pay costs of £2,700, and an £8,000 surcharge, after admitting a number of food safety and hygiene breaches.

It had received a food hygiene rating of 1 - stating ‘Major Improvement Necessary.’

The business was served with an improvement notice, but when the council returned they found the standard of cleaning was still “very poor,” food stored without lids below the preparation area, and still no properly functioning wash hand basin.

Mr Ali did not attend the hearing at Cannock Magistrates Court last week. On a previous occasion, guilty pleas were entered to six offences, including failing to have a documented Food Safety Management System in place, adequate training and hand-washing facilities for food handlers and three charges of failing to comply with hygiene improvement notices.

All the offences apply to dates between January and February 2024.

Following the case, Councillor Ian Fordham, cabinet member for environment, said: “The health and wellbeing of our community is one of our top priorities and we work to ensure that the proper hygiene standards are adhered to in restaurants, cafes and takeaways across the borough.

“We want local businesses to flourish and we are here to provide the advice and measures so they do not fall foul of the important food hygiene regulations that are in place to keep people safe.

“I would recommend all our residents and visitors to take the time to check the food hygiene ratings of a venue before eating out.”