Rat-infested venue closes
RODENT FOUND DEAD IN KITCHEN AFTER DEEP CLEAN
A NEWCASTLE city-centre restaurant has been shut down after continuing to serve food despite being plagued with a major rat infestation.
When Environmental Health Officers inspected Teamo BBQ House on Percy Street in April 2023, they found piles of soil on the kitchen floor – evidence that rodents had burrowed through the restaurant’s structure.
Rat droppings were found throughout the restaurant, on work surfaces, under the oven and the sink used for washing pans.
The lid of a deep fat fryer covered a hole where rats had gained entry, and was stuffed with six wax blocks of poison.
There were smudge marks along the skirting boards where rats had been running, and the infestation was described as prolonged and well established.
The owner agreed for the business to close immediately, at the request of Environmental Health Officers, until the pest activity was brought under control and a deep clean of the premises undertaken. A number of re-visits to the premises were made by the Environmental Health Team to make sure that work required to improve hygiene standards was being carried out.
However, a rat carcass was found on the kitchen floor at a subsequent inspection following extensive pest control treatment, as well as other breaches of food safety legislation. Cleaning standards remained poor and rat droppings were found on a shelf and in a box storing chopping
boards. Food business operator Min Hou of Spring Garden Lane, Newcastle, admitted five breaches of food hygiene regulations when she appeared before Newcastle Magistrates. She was fined £533, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £213 and £1,200 costs, a total of £1,946.
Tea and More Limited, the company of which Hou was a director, also admitted the same five offences. It was fined £8,000, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £2,000 and £1,200 in costs making a total of £11,200. The court heard the restaurant previously had a five-star hygiene rating when the council received a complaint.
However, in July 2023, the restaurant was given a one-star hygiene rating and Hou was interviewed under caution with a view to taking formal action. The business has now been dissolved.
Newcastle city councillor Irim Ali said: “This is a horrific breach of food hygiene regulations. No-one could fail to be disgusted at the con
dition of that restaurant, I am just relieved it has now closed and noone has been poisoned.”
He added: “I hope the penalties handed out in this case act as a reminder to all food businesses to ensure their premises are pristine and that they act as soon as they discover a problem.
“When people eat out, they rightly expect the highest food hygiene standards. As a council we will not hesitate to take enforcement action when regulations are breached.”