A food business operator has been fined following a successful prosecution by the Vale of Glamorgan Council for serious and repeated food hygiene breaches at a mobile food premises at Barry Island Pleasure Park.
The case was brought by Shared Regulatory Services, which also carries out trading standards, licensing, health and safety, animal welfare and other work for the Cardiff, Bridgend and Vale Local Authority areas.
Mr Jamil Ur Rehman, a sole trader operating Fish, Chips and Burgers, pleaded guilty to 11 out of 14 food hygiene offences relating to the operation of the mobile food concession.
Council officers first identified serious hygiene failings during a routine inspection on 26 March 2024, including the absence of adequate hand-washing facilities, an inadequate water supply, poor cleaning practices and a failure to operate an effective Food Safety Management System.
Due to the public health risk, a Remedial Action Notice was served prohibiting the sale of ready-to-eat food.
Despite some initial improvements, further inspections found standards had repeatedly declined, with officers identifying risks of cross-contamination, inadequate temperature control, poor separation of raw and ready-to-eat food, lack of allergen information and unsafe waste and drainage arrangements. A second Remedial Action Notice and multiple Hygiene Improvement Notices were served during the course of the investigation.
At sentencing, Mr Rehman was fined £320 for each of two offences, with no separate penalty for the remaining offences. He was also ordered to pay a Victim Surcharge of £256 and £250 in costs, bringing the total financial penalty to £1,146.
Cllr Ruba Sivagnanam, Cabinet Member for Community Engagement, Equalities and Regulatory Services, said: “The failures identified by our inspection demonstrated the genuine risk posed to public health by this operator.
“Our officers always seek to work with businesses to achieve compliance, but where serious breaches persist, we will not hesitate to take formal action to protect residents and visitors alike. We hope this prosecution sends a clear message that food safety is not optional and must be taken seriously.”
