The owner of a Spalding takeaway described as being so dirty that it posed an imminent threat to the health of customers eating the food has been jailed for 12 months.
Rafat Thoun, who ran pizza, kebab and fried chicken takeaway Time Square at 25 Winsover Road, was also given a food hygiene prohibition order banning him for life from being involved in the management of any food business.
On Friday (February 5) Thoun (38), of no fixed address, admitted 11 charges of food hygiene regulations arising from a series of visits by South Holland District Council environment officers to his premises during 2013.
Judge Michael Heath, passing sentence, told him: “This is a shocking case. The picture that confronted the inspectors was a quite dreadful one.
“The irresistible inference I can draw is that you did not implement adequate hygiene standards in order to avoid costs and to maximise your profits.
“The only sentence I can justify is immediate custody.
“You demonstrated complete disregard for food safety. It is surprising that nobody suffered serious harm to their health as a result of these offences.”
Adam Farrer, prosecuting told Lincoln Crown Court that after a series of warnings environmental health officers visited the premises in May 2013.
“The defendant was not at the premises. The staff said he was in Egypt.
“They found the premises to be dirty and generally unhygienic.
“There were no cleaning cloths on the premises. Staff were using a raw meat wrapper as a cleaning cloth. There was no means of disinfectant available.”
The inspectors found meat debris and congealed fat on the side of a kebab machine. In a fridge an open container of butter had a dead beetle inside while another butter container was filthy and congealed. Open tins of beans were stale and hard.
An out-of-date packet of prawns was inside one fridge and a knife used for cutting meat had evidence of maggots on it.
Mr Farrer added: “Raw chicken was thawing in a dirty sink. The wash basin and toilet were dirty.
“There was an overflowing rubbish bin. In a lean-to in the yard bags of rubbish had been attacked by birds. Flies were attracted to the food waste.
“The premises posed an imminent risk to health and the manager agreed to close the shop.”
The shop was cleaned up and re-opened but further food hygiene breaches were found on subsequent visits carried out by inspectors in July and August 2013.
Mr Farrer said: “Mr Thoun flagrantly disregarded the law. There was a high risk of an adverse effect on customers. It is a matter of good fortune that nobody became seriously ill as a result of eating food from these premises.”
Thoun was prosecuted but failed to turn up three times for court appearances. He was finally arrested in January after he was detained off a flight returning to the UK.
Thoun, who represented himself during the hearing, told the court through an interpreter that he was on holiday when the shop was first visited but when he returned the shop was cleaned up and allowed to reopen.
He said he later took the decision to close his business because of issues with the building.
Thoun told the court: “I no longer run a business from that shop.”
