The owners of a Bangladeshi and Indian restaurant in Hampshire which failed to keep equipment in its kitchen clean have been fined £12,000.
Ranigold Ltd, the company that operates The Balaka restaurant in Wincester, pleaded guilty to six food hygiene offences. They were also ordered to pay court costs of £7,000.
Winchester City Council decided to prosecute he restaurant after offices found that hygiene standards had fallen to an unacceptable level during a routine inspection last year.
They uncovered poor cleaning issues in relation to equipment and surfaces within the kitchen, such as the microwaves and refrigeration units.
A cheese grater, ladle, pizza slicer, knife and ready-to-use skewers were covered with an accumulation of grease and detritus, while inspectors found that a wash basin was not working and the foul drainage system had been damaged.
The court also heard that there were no controls for maintaining the safety of cooked rice and a poor food safety management system was in place.
Cllr Victoria Weston, portfolio holder for environment and transport, said: “The City Council will not hesitate to take action in the courts when businesses continue to fail to comply with food safety legislation, they have a choice to listen to the inspection team or face the consequences if they do not.”
