Restaurant business fined for food hygiene offences

A restaurant business has been ordered to pay £3,000 in fines and costs after admitting food hygiene offences.

Torbay Council brought the case against WK Food 361 Ltd, trading as Woks Kitchen, of 361 Torquay Road, Paignton, and director Mr Zu Feng Shi, aged 39, of the same address.

Mr Shi admitted three breaches of the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 on behalf of the company and as the sole director.

The charges were:

• Failure to carry out a permanent procedure to control risks to food safety
• Failure to keep the premises clean
• Failure to keep equipment clean and where necessary disinfected.

The company was fined £2,000 on the first charge, with no additional penalty on the other two charges. It was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £800 and costs of £200.

The District Judge hearing the case at Newton Abbot Magistrates Court on Tuesday 2 July 2024 gave Mr Shi an absolute discharge in relation to the same charges against him as director of the company.

The court heard the prosecution followed an unannounced routine inspection at the business in October 2023 when standards were found to be poor, following repeated visits dating back to 2019.

After each visit an environmental health officer explained the issues that had been found and left a written report, but conditions were found to be poor on return visits.

When questioned about the conditions found in October 2023, Mr Shi said he accepted improvements needed to be made and he took the matter seriously to prevent it happening again.

Since then, extra staff and a cleaner had been employed by the company to maintain improvements.

Mr Shi apologised to the court for the past condition of the premises and said he was working hard to keep them in good condition.

After the hearing, Cllr Hayley Tranter, Torbay Council's Cabinet Member for Adult and Community Services, Public Health and Inequalities, said: “We take a staged approach to enforcement where appropriate. Officers will always try to work with businesses offering advice and guidance where possible.

“On this occasion, the business had not maintained the standards required following a previous inspection, so formal action was taken. Businesses must understand the importance of following food hygiene regulations and their importance in ensuring food is safe for consumers to eat.

“I am pleased that the business has since made improvements and we continue to monitor the standards of cleanliness at the business.”

Unsatisfactory food hygiene in businesses in Torbay can be reported using the Torbay Council website.

Customers can make informed choices of where to eat and shop for food via the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme.