Bala deli shut down over food poisoning risk

Oct 13 2009 by Hywel Trewyn, Daily Post

Poptyr Dre

A DELICATESSEN was ordered to shut immediately because it posed an “unacceptably” and imminently high risk of food poisoning after inspectors found it had no sinks or toilets.

Popty’r Dref, 33 Stryd Fawr, Bala was closed after a visit by Gwynedd Council environmental health inspectors on October 2. The shop had only been open since August.

Yesterday, at a court hearing to decide if it should stay shut, council solicitor Geraint Edwards told Dolgellau magistrates there was a “high risk” of food poisoning. The officers’ quick action in shutting the shop helped prevent people falling ill, the court heard.

The shop is owned by Elwyn Vaughan, former boss of failed enterprise agency Cymad. Vaughan, of Penrhyndeudraeth, has two other shops, Popdy’r Dref, Dolgellau and Spar shop, Harlech.

Yesterday magistrates accepted there was “imminent risk of injury to health from the lack of potable water supply to the premises”.

Mr Edwards said: “There was no supply of drinking water on the premises, no sink to wash hands or wash produce and no toilets for people who were dealing with food. The shop had not been registered as a shop dealing with food.”

He added: “There were cakes without covers, eggs, bread, jams, sandwiches, cheeses, quiches and ice cream.”

Council officer Michael Thomas served Vaughan with an emergency prohibition order (EPO) banning him from using the premises, and a copy was placed on the shop’s front door.

Mr Edwards said: “These steps were necessary to protect public health.”

He said the risks of contamination and food poisoning was “unacceptably high”. The delicatessen will not reopen until further notice.

Bench chairman Mrs Katherine Ellis said: “It’s obvious these premises were totally unacceptable as a food shop and there was a risk to the public’s health.”

She ordered Mr Vaughan, who was not in court, to pay £574 costs.

Afterwards a council spokeswoman said: “The court agreed the lack of water made it difficult for staff to maintain a high degree of personal cleanliness such as hand washing, fundamentally important before handling open, high risk foods. The ready-to-eat foods for sale, which contained cooked meat, eggs and dairy products, posed a high risk to consumers as they were likely to support the growth of food poisoning bacteria.

“It would also make it impractical for staff to clean the premises as well as utensils used in preparing food.”