A HUGE fine has been handed to the operator of a Coventry food business where rat droppings were found and gnawed food was on sale.
Inventure Coventry Ltd, the food business operator of Opus Foods in Foleshill Road, pleaded guilty to the offences at Coventry Magistrates Court.
Inventure was fined a total of £42,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,745 – the largest fine imposed by the court in this type of case for many years.
Council food and safety officers carried out an unannounced food hygiene inspection at Opus Foods in October 2024.
In the shop they found filthy conditions, rat droppings, grease marks from the rats and gnawed food offered for sale – all indicating an active rat infestation.
Packets of cooked meat which were up to six months past their use by dates were also on sale.
The business voluntarily closed and stopped trading while remedial works were undertaken to improve conditions.
Officers came back to the shop a day later and found that, although cleaning and pest control measures were in the process of being implemented, eight pallets of food were found to be damaged by rodents. The pallets were voluntarily surrendered to officers to ensure they were not offered for sale.
At the time, the business was re-rated by officers and given a food hygiene rating of 0.
Officers worked with the food business to ensure conditions were improved and it was safe to operate. Once this was established, the premises reopened for trading.
In December, following a request for a re-rating revisit, a food hygiene rating of 4 (hygiene standards are good) was achieved.
Inventure Coventry Ltd pleaded guilty to a number of offences under the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations, including failure to keep the premises clean, failure to put adequate procedures in place to control pests, and offering food for sale which was unacceptable for human consumption due to contamination.
Coun Abdul Salam Khan, Coventry City Council’s Cabinet Member for Policing and Equalities, said: “It is vital that people running food businesses in Coventry are running clean and safe establishments all of the time to ensure the safety of the food they sell to customers.
“Our food and safety officers work hard at inspecting food businesses in the city and issuing food hygiene ratings to ensure consumers can make informed decisions on where to eat and purchase food.”
Davina Blackburn, Strategic Lead for Regulation and Communities in the city, added: “We take a staged approach to enforcement – and prosecution is a matter of last resort. Wherever possible officers will always try to work with businesses offering advice and guidance but will take the necessary actions if they feel there is a risk to health.”
Visit https://ratings.food.gov.uk to check businesses’ food hygiene ratings.
Email [email protected] or call 08085 834333 to report unsatisfactory food hygiene conditions at food businesses in Coventry.
