Foodlaw-Reading
Dr David Jukes, The University of Reading, UK
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FSA News Item, 17 January 2018
A Belfast restaurant is the first business in Northern Ireland to be prosecuted for failing to display a valid food hygiene rating sticker at Belfast Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday 9 January.
PGMB Ltd, the proprietor of Café Fish, 340 Lisburn Road, was fined £250 and ordered to pay £120 legal costs, for failure to display a valid food hygiene rating sticker as required by Sections 7(1) and 10 (1) of the Food Hygiene Rating Act (Northern Ireland) 2016. At the time of the offence the premises was rated one, indicating “major improvement necessary” to comply with the food hygiene requirements.
The court heard that Belfast City Council officers visited Café Fish on a number of occasions and repeatedly advised the owner of the need to display the rating before instigating legal proceedings.
Mark O’Neill, senior food safety advisor at the Food Standards Agency, said:
‘This ruling sends a clear message to businesses that if they fail to display their food hygiene rating action will be taken, whether that be the serving of a fixed penalty notice or prosecution in a court of law. The display of hygiene ratings is about helping consumers to make informed choices about where they eat. By failing to display their rating food businesses are breaking the law.
'We welcome the fine imposed on PGMB Ltd and want to thank Belfast City Council for their work in preparing and taking this prosecution.’
The premises currently has a hygiene rating of four indicating a “good” level of compliance with hygiene requirements and a valid food hygiene rating sticker is now being displayed.
