You might have read my article about a campaign to ban takeaway shops from being near schools due to them serving food that is deemed by the food police to be unhealthy.
But today a prominent Golden Mile greasy spoon cafe was spared execution by the health inspector despite repeated multiple failures to comply with the Food Safety Act. The owner, Eamon McGuire, pleaded guilty to seven breaches of food safety rules and had been done already for similar offences in 2007.
He was slapped with a £700 fine and told to clean up his cafe. Blackpool Trading Standards boss Tim Coglan said that the fine reflected the seriousness of the offences. I’m sure all the savings incurred by the corners Mr McGuire has been cutting will more than pay for it.
So I have a few questions in my head about this. First of all, what’s more dangerous to health: a takeaway cafe that does comply with the Food Safety Act but is located near a school, or a greasy spoon cafe in a prime tourist hotspot that is failing to comply?
Secondly, what on earth does a food establishment have to do in order for it to be shut down? It seems to me that the owner of this cafe is quite frankly taking the piss and putting the health of his customers at serious risk.
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What’s more worrying is that this was reported by the Fire Brigade, and not spotted in routine inspections. That suggests that environmental health are far too overstretched in the resort. There shouldn’t be any dirty takeaways. No doubt this one will now be inspected regularly but surely they should all be. Just think of the savings made in public expenditure at the Vic for food poisoning and in street cleaning for the resulting vomit after eating there.
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Well said Frustrated, but I have heard things about certain hotels that should not be accepted. Obviously I won’t name any names but lets just say the two I have heard about are bigger hotels. But I have also heard from a friend who is a chef that hotels/restaurants etc have to make pretty serious breaches of hygiene regulations to even get investigated.
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There is something wrong with what you’ve heard then.
I have a hotel, have never put a foot wrong in 20 odd years and still get an inspection every year.
I also want to know why they think they have to come to me so regularly when there are so many many dirty, damn places in this town just begging to be closed down.
I have even asked the question, but never received a proper answer.
We get Enforcement Teams coming into our area on Friday and Saturday nights during the season just looking for someone to charge with anything they can find.
All this staff is wasted when there are so many things wrong that they know about but never seem to do anything about
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