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Food business fined £4,000 over salmonella contamination

  • November 9, 2016
  • mmassen
  • Comments Off on Food business fined £4,000 over salmonella contamination

 

A food company has been fined £4,000 after it supplied a spice mix which contained salmonella.

An investigation into Catermix in Syston, Leicestershire, was launched by Charnwood County Council after another authority found the bacteria in tikka spicing supplied to a company in Preston.

nwnftextLeicester Magistrates’ Court heard how health officers discovered Catermix was mixing the spices in the back of a van which was dirty and had an old carpet on the floor. The spices were also being stored in a garage which was dirty and damp.

The Food Standards Agency also had to issue a recall notice for items containing the spice mix, resulting in one company having to withdraw more than 6000 products.

Chhagan Patel, the director of Catermix, said that mixing the spices in the back of the van was a last resort after his previous manufacturer had closed in May 2015, and he believed the conditions were acceptable. He accepted he did not carry out any microbiological checks on the final products which he supplied.

Mr Patel told magistrates he had health issues, cared for his wife and the company had no assets or cash.

The company pleaded guilty to six charges, including ‘failing to ensure that at all stages of food production the food was protected against contamination’, and was fined £4,000 by the magistrates.

Following the court case, Charnwood borough councillor David Hayes, who is deputy lead member for Regulatory Services, said:

Salmonella is incredibly dangerous and this could have had a devastating impact on people.

I hope this sends out a strong message to companies that they need to take food safety seriously.

– DAVID HAYES, CHARNWOOD BOROUGH COUNCILLOR#
 
ITV News 9th November 2016
 
Mike Massen of Cohen Cramer Solicitors says
 
“When you purchase food, whether it be at your local fast food outlet, high class restaurant or from you a shop you expect it to be of a sufficient quality and standard that allows you to eat it without further problem however this is not always the case and food poisoning can lead to nausea, dizziness and diarrhea and worse”
If you have suffered from food poisoning you are entitled to make a claim for compensation.
You can claim for:
  • the discomfort and upset caused by the poisoning this is known as general damages
  • lost income if you have to have time off work
  • medication and treatment costs
  • other financial losses resulting from the incident; these are known as special damages

If you think you have suffered as a result of food poisoning then get in touch with us today

  • call: 0113 224 7804 (24 hours)
  • email: enquiry@cohencramer.co.uk
  • pop your details into the contact box at the bottom of this page and we will get back to you

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