Daventry restaurant fined after cockroaches found on premises

A Daventry restaurant was handed a large fine after health inspectors found an infestation of cockroaches on its premises last year.
Officers found a sticky trap with cockroaches on it  some of which were still aliveOfficers found a sticky trap with cockroaches on it  some of which were still alive
Officers found a sticky trap with cockroaches on it  some of which were still alive

The grim discovery was made by Daventry District Council environmental health officers at Asia Tandoori on Warwick Street on September 28.

Kamal Hussain and Sadakur Rahman, joint directors of New Asia Kamsad Ltd, admitted seven food hygiene offences at Northampton Magistrates Court on February 28.

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They were fined £7,000, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £340 and costs of £1,198.

Floor grime inside Asia Tandoori restaurantFloor grime inside Asia Tandoori restaurant
Floor grime inside Asia Tandoori restaurant

The court heard that the council officers visited the restaurant after a customer reported seeing an insect, which they believed was a cockroach, on their table following a meal there.

During the inspection, officers found a ‘sticky trap’ with about 50 cockroaches on it – many of which were still alive – in a boiler room adjoining the restaurant’s kitchen.

A live cockroach was also found on the floor in the cooking area, while further inspection found dirty equipment, floors and walls, overflowing external drains, and bowls of cooked rice out of temperature control.

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The restaurant provided officers with a pest control report from July 2016 which had identified the cockroach infestation, but the business had not acted on the pest contractor’s advice to undertake a thorough, deep clean.

Floor grime inside Asia Tandoori restaurantFloor grime inside Asia Tandoori restaurant
Floor grime inside Asia Tandoori restaurant

The business volunteered to close its doors following advice from the officers, and a deep clean was carried out over the next two days. Pest control contractors were also brought in to treat the cockroach infestation and the business was allowed to reopen on September 30 after it passed a further inspection.

DDC officers continued to monitor the restaurant following the incident but found no further evidence of cockroaches.

Councillor Mike Warren, health and housing portfolio holder at Daventry District Council, said: “We take food hygiene extremely seriously as a council and it was clear following our officers’ inspection that there were major breaches of standards, not least a serious cockroach infestation which was not being treated.

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“While the restaurant took action following the inspection, the offences were so serious that prosecution was the only appropriate course of action. The level of the fine imposed by the court reflects the severity of the offences, and we hope it sends a clear message to other food businesses that we will not hesitate to take action should we find breaches of food hygiene.

“Residents should also rest assured that this case is very much the exception to the rule in Daventry district, where food businesses boast excellent standards on the whole.”

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