Food business owner banned for breaking hygiene rules

A trader has been banned from operating a food business following continued poor hygiene conditions and breaching food safety regulations.

Appearing at York Magistrates on 14 January 2020, Trevor Douglass, aged 63, of St Peter’s Court, Whitby, pleaded guilty to four food safety charges as the sole owner of Whitby Seafish, Shambles Market, York.

City of York Council environmental health officers carried out five food safety inspections at Whitby Seafish between 2013 and 2018. During this period the business failed to achieve a food hygiene rating higher than two and was broadly non-compliant with food safety regulations for a period of five years.

On 6 November 2018, an environmental health officer carried out a routine inspection of the business, where it was awarded a food hygiene rating of one, meaning that major improvement was necessary.

Issues identified during the visit included fish being stored at a high temperature, lack of adequate hand washing facilities, inadequate disinfection of food equipment, and cross contamination risks between raw and ready to eat seafood.

A follow up visit was undertaken on 30 November 2018, where standards were still found to be poor, in particular in relation to cross contamination risks between raw and ready to eat foods. Douglass had previously been advised to cease selling ready to eat foods due to the risk of cross contamination, however was still found to be selling both products at the time of the visit.

In January 2019, Douglass signed an undertaking with City of York Council to not sell ready to eat foods, but was subsequently found to be selling cooked crabs at his stall on 5 July 2019 and 2 August 2019. 

The court issued Douglass with a hygiene prohibition order – the first one issued following council prosecution for nearly 10 years – preventing him from running a food business. He was ordered to pay a £300 fine, £30 court surcharge and £200 towards prosecution costs.

Councillor Andrew Waller, executive member for Economy and Strategic Planning, said: “This is the first time in around 10 years that a hygiene prohibition order has been served following council action, which shows the seriousness of the poor hygiene seen here.

“York is home to a variety of food establishments and we will continue to ensure that standards are met and that customers are confident in the quality of the food they are being served.

“Local food premises can seek advice from our environmental health officers on food hygiene and safety requirements which, if not complied with, can lead to legal action. We welcome customers reporting concerns to food.safety@york.gov.uk”