A Newport shop owner is banned from food industry after rat infestation and hygiene breaches.
It all happened at their shop and warehouse. The city council investigated. This United Foods shop is on Jeffrey Street, and the warehouse is on Marlborough Road. The council’s team checked things out.
The officers saw some gross stuff. They found a dead mouse in a trap and another dead mouse decaying. Mouse droppings were everywhere. It was a full-blown rodent problem, and mice had even chewed on rice bags.
Later, they checked again. Raw meat was out in the open, and building work was happening nearby. The walls had black mould and grime. They said it was a huge public health risk.
At the warehouse, they found rats. Food was stored there. Ali has been in trouble before; he has 27 prior offenses, actually, and he seems to keep breaking these rules.
In 2010, he messed up food rules again. This was at a different business. In 2014, he did it again, and his company then was fined a lot. He even got caught with fake cigarettes once.
The court said he ignored the rules and that he knew what he was doing. His lawyer claimed things are better now and that the shop has a good rating. Ali made big improvements, they argue, and he had Covid issues and family health problems.
The judge called it a “shocking case” and said mice were running around the food. Public safety is the most important thing, and he said customers were really at risk. The court banned Ali from food work, and this ban will last at least six months. He needs to convince a court to lift it.
Ali got six months in jail, but they suspended it for a year. He has to do 100 hours of work without pay. He also has to pay over five thousand pounds, and the company has to pay over eleven thousand. That’s a fine, plus costs.