Environmental health officers (EHOs) closed Cairns Oatcakes for a second time this week, on Wednesday March 22. All food prepared at the Milton, Stoke-on-Trent bakery has been destroyed, the city council said.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council cabinet member Randy Conteh said: “Acting on information received that the business was still trading in contravention of the court order, environmental health officers revisited the premises on March 22 and found that the shop was open.
“[The owner] may make an application to the council for the order to be lifted when sufficient remedial works have been carried out to remove the risk to health. Until that time, the business should remain closed.”
‘Extremely concerned’
The court order was issued after EHOs were “extremely concerned” about the conditions in Cairns Oatcakes, following a routine inspection on March 17 (see images).
The floor was covered with oatcakes and a waste pipe had been left open, which could have allowed mice or rats to enter the bakery.
Speaking in North Staffordshire Justice Centre, The Sentinel reported that EHO Nikki Jadczak said: “There was filth on the work surfaces. The floor covering was dirty all around the edges. There were oatcakes littering the filthy floor.
“Where the customers could see, there was dirt under the work counter. In the rear preparation room, there was no drainage and the water dropped straight onto my feet.”
‘Accumulations of food waste’
Councillor Conteh added that there were “accumulations of food waste, along with evidence of wall, ceiling and floor surfaces that were damaged and incapable of being cleaned.”
A judge passed the hygiene emergency prohibition order, stating that there was a risk of “food poisoning, injury or even death”.
No-one from Cairns Oatcakes was available for comment when approached by FoodManufacture.co.uk.
Meanwhile, a Gloucestershire meat firm was ordered to pay £54,000 in fines and costs on March 13. The Country Butcher was sentenced for breaching seven food hygiene offences, including leaving a bag of putrefying meat behind a freezer.