An inspection of Allen’s Bakery in Roath, north Wales by the Shared Regulatory Service on 21 October last year led to a voluntary agreement to close the business.
During the visit, inspectors found widespread mouse droppings on the walls, floor, on wooden pallets and on the outside of flour bags in the store room of the property. The investigating officer was satisfied that there was a real risk of contamination to the food that was being produced.
Dissatisfied
During a further visit on 6 November, the inspecting officer was still not satisfied with the levels of cleanliness at the business and although written procedures were in place, it was clear that the end-of-shift cleansing tasks were not being carried out.
In a hearing last week (Thursday 4 December), owner John George Allen pleaded guilty to 15 food hygiene offices at Cardiff Magistrate’s Court. He was fined £2,500 and ordered to pay costs of £460, as well as a victim surcharge of £120.
‘Improvement was necessary’
A council spokesman said: “Historically, this business has received poor food hygiene ratings going back as far as 2016 – when the food hygiene rating was 2 – meaning that ‘improvement was necessary’.
“When the business was re-inspected at the end of 2017, there was a lack of progress on the works that needed to be carried out and the food hygiene rating fell to 1. At that stage, the issues related mainly to the lack of cleanliness in the bakery itself.”
Since the unannounced visit in October, work has been done by Allen to fix structural damages that had allowed pests into the store room and the premises was thoroughly cleaned. The business was given a new hygiene rating of 3 and deemed “generally satisfactory”.
