Banbury takeaway and its owner fined £55,000 for food hygiene and waste offences

A kebab shop and its owner have been fined more than £55,000 for environmental and food hygiene offences.

At a hearing at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Monday (7 August), owner Adam Ahmed pleaded guilty to nine offences related to waste disposal and food handling at his Banbury takeaway, Spicy Kebabish Ltd.

The charges were filed in 2022 following a series of council food hygiene inspections and revisits.

The defendant pleaded guilty to all charges including three brought against the owner personally.

The magistrate ordered the business to pay a total of £33,490 in fines, costs and a victim surcharge, and Mr Ahmed was personally ordered to pay a further £21,685.

Councillor Phil Chapman, Portfolio Holder for Healthy and Safe Communities, said: "Local residents and visitors expect these venues to meet high standards for safety, cleanliness and hygiene, and the vast majority of them do.

"In this instance, we encountered a situation where standards were not adhered to.

"Waste was not being contained and disposed of correctly and the business was failing to train food handlers and protect against contamination, which led to the council taking further action."

Other issues identified on the premises included a failure to ensure adequate drainage facilities, and a failure by the business and owner to engage and comply with community protection and hygiene improvement notices relating to waste disposal and implementing a food safety management system.

The council routinely inspects local food outlets to check how hygienically the food is handled, the condition of the structure of the buildings and how the business manages and records what it does to make sure food is safe.

The outlets then receive ratings, and members of the public can search for them on the Food Hygiene Ratings Scheme website.

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