A Chinese takeaway and its managers have been ordered to pay a total of £15,180 after it was prosecuted by Enfield Council for food hygiene breaches.

Luc Oriental Chef Ltd trading as Oriental Chef on London Road, Enfield, and Kin Quan Luc, 56, of St Mark’s Road, Bristol were sentenced at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on 20 May after each admitting six breaches in 2017 & 2018 of Regulations 19 & 20 of the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations, 2013.

Quan Mai Yang, 50, of Cumbrian Gardens, NW2 was also sentenced after being found guilty of the same six offences on 12 March 2019. Yang had previously been convicted of similar food safety offences in 2007 and 2014, when she was also prohibited from working in a food business.

The takeaway was closed down by an Enfield Council’s Food Safety Inspector in September 2017 after serious hygiene failings were found. The areas of concern were consequently addressed and after the premises were visited several times they were allowed to reopen two days later.

The Oriental Chef takeaway was again visited in July 2018, inspected and given a Food Hygiene Rating of one – indicating major improvement was necessary – in light of the repeated failings found on the premises, the Council decided to prosecute.

Failings found included food contamination, poor hygiene practices and a lack of food hygiene training for staff, poor standards of cleaning and inadequate storage of cooked foods as well as inadequate cooling of high risk foods such as rice.

The food preparation equipment was also in a poor condition and food storage containers were inadequately cleaned and in a poor condition, the premises freezers were also not set to keep food at the correct temperature.

Luc Oriental Chef Ltd was fined £8,000, ordered to pay a £150 victim surcharge and £2,000 costs. Kin Quan Luc was fined £1,200 ordered to pay a £30 victim surcharge and £250 costs. Quan Mai Yang was fined £2,600 ordered to pay a £50 victim surcharge and £700 in costs.

Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Licensing and Regulatory Services, Cllr George Savva, said: “We will not tolerate food businesses who cannot comply with the hygiene laws and consequently put residents at risk of food poisoning.

“It is not difficult to meet the lawful requirements with regards to hygiene standards but food business owners need to understand that we will shut down and prosecute premises and business owners who cannot or will not take reasonable steps to protect consumers from harm.”