CAMBRIDGE City Council has successfully prosecuted Hi Sweety – a bakery based on Regent Street in Cambridge – for food hygiene offences, with Cambridge Magistrates Court fining the business £6,473.18 at the hearing on 4 October.

The prosecution came as a result of food hygiene offences uncovered when the council’s Environmental Health Officers made an unannounced inspection to the premises on 5 January. This followed a complaint from a member of the public that a cockroach had been found in a hot drink purchased from the bakery.

At the inspection, Environmental Health Officers found evidence of live and dead cockroaches, which have the potential to cause illness through contamination of foodstuffs and food surfaces. Due to the imminent risk of harm to health, officers immediately closed the premises using emergency hygiene prohibition powers.

Following the investigation, the business carried out the necessary remedial works and, after further follow up inspections in January this year, council officers found that there was no longer a risk to public health. The premises was subsequently permitted to reopen.

Ms Jingping Li, Food Business Operator and Company Director, and Mrs Dujuan Liu, Manager, pleaded guilty to four food hygiene offences on behalf of themselves and Hi Sweety, including:

• Failure to register a food business
• Failure to have in place adequate procedure to control pests
• Failure to keep the food premises clean and in good repair
• Failure to protect food against any contamination.

Cllr Rosy Moore, Executive Councillor for Environment, Climate Change and Biodiversity, said: “When businesses fall short of the standards we expect, we will always take speedy action to make sure we protect people’s health and wellbeing.

“Food businesses should always put public health at the very top of their list of priorities and, as in this case, we will work proactively to support any businesses where the standards are not up to scratch, to help them rectify the issues.

Cllr Moore added: “I would always encourage patrons of local eateries to get in touch with our team with any concerns, just as the individual did who reported the cockroaches at this premises.

“I would also encourage people to check on any business’s food hygiene credentials, which you can do easily online. We award a score of 0 to 5 (5 being the best), which reflects the standard of food hygiene at the time of the inspection.”