Two takeaways in Port Talbot have been fined for failing to display a valid food hygiene rating sticker in the proper way.
Neath Port Talbot Council environmental health officers issued fixed penalty notices of £200 to Bin Qi at Happy Wok, at 17 Victoria Road in Port Talbot on April 16 and another to Joynal Miah at Shelina’s Tandoori Indian Takeaway, at 44 Commercial Road, Taibach on January 23.
The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is run by the local authority in partnership with the Food Standards Agency. Under the Food Hygiene Rating (Wales) Act 2013. Food businesses which sell food directly to consumers or to other businesses are legally required to display their rating.
Officers of the environmental health and trading standards service continually visit various businesses throughout the county and where a food business fails to display a valid food hygiene rating score in a conspicuous place, enforcement action will be taken. Between April 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015, more than 350 visits were made to food businesses in Neath Port Talbot, and in addition to the two fixed penalty notices, 35 warning letters were also issued.
Leader of Neath Port Talbot Council Ali Thomas said: “The issuing of these fixed penalty notices demonstrates how serious the council is about promoting food hygiene, and ensuring fairness amongst all food businesses.
“The aim of the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is to drive businesses to improve their standards and, as a result, reduce the number of cases of food poisoning in the UK. The scheme wants to help consumers judge for themselves whether the hygiene standards of a food outlet are good enough. That is why it is a legal requirement for businesses to clearly display their ratings.”
