Fish processor to pay £15,000 for hygiene offences

An environmental health team found dirty tables and equipment, as well as damaged floors, walls and ceilings at the Fleetwood-based firm. Oban Fish Selling Co Ltd pleaded guilty to nine food safety and hygiene offences at Blackpool Magistrates Court on Monday (May 22).

The fish processor was fined £13,500, and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £170, and full costs of £1,639.

‘Consider formal action’​

Wyre Council head of environmental health and community safety Neil Greenwood said: “Wyre Council takes food hygiene very seriously, and if premises don’t comply we have no option but to consider formal action.​

“However, we do want to help businesses achieve compliance and always encourage proprietors to work with us.”​

Wyre Council’s environmental health team found the hygiene offences during inspections between March and July 2016.

Oban Fish Selling Co Ltd said it was committed to raising the hygiene and safety standards at its fish processing facility.

‘Bring the building up to standard’​

The firm’s director Mark Wilson told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “We’re going to bring the building up to standard. We hadn’t done so because we thought we were moving into a new fish park.​

“The fish park has fallen through now, so we’ll be committing to bringing our building up to scratch. We’ll be spending money on the building to bring it up to standard. That’s what we’re going to do to try and tackle the situation.”​

Wyre Council said it inspected all food businesses, and last year, 93% were “broadly compliant”​ with food safety and hygiene regulations.

Meanwhile, it was revealed last week that UK consumers were less worried about food safety​ than the rest of Europe, according to a Friends of Glass report.