Food business fined for food safety rules after ignoring previous warning
18th December 2017
The Highland Council has successfully prosecuted a food business after discovering unsafe hygiene practices in the transportation of food.
An investigation by officers of the Council's Environmental Health Team discovered that N E Meats Ltd of Newcastle had been transporting and delivering foods from the North of England to the Highlands without any temperature control measures.
This discovery followed an earlier investigation in 2016 when the Company, was found to be delivering a large consignment of kebab meat, poultry and dairy products to Inverness.
On the 16th February 2017, a vehicle hired by N E Meats Ltd was stopped and searched outside a takeaway in Invergordon and found to be transporting kebab meat, burgers and high risk foods without adequate temperature control. The food was detained, seized and subsequently destroyed by Council officers.
On the 6th December 2017, at Tain Sheriff Court, N E Meats Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to comply with The Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and fined £265.
The Council's Senior Environmental Health Officer Patricia Sheldon said: "This Company clearly floated food safety regulations for financial gain and delivered foods across Scotland in an unsafe way, despite having being hauled up for poor practices in 2016. The way that this business operated placed the safety of the food and the health of the consumer at risk.
"Food businesses have a clear and absolute duty to ensure that the food is transported, handled and prepared safety. We do our best to work with businesses, but if they do not take appropriate steps to protect the safety of the consumer and ignore our advice, then the Council will not hesitate to take formal action through the courts. Unhygienic conditions and poor practices will not be tolerated."
Chair of the Council’s Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee, Cllr Allan Henderson praised the team for their work. He said: “The Highland Council is committed to ensuring consumers are not put at risk and our staff work hard to ensure businesses comply with food hygiene legislation. I would like to congratulate the team for taking action and safeguarding the health and well- being of customers. Well done."
For more information about food hygiene requirements of if you wish to report a food safety concern, you can contact the Environmental Health team at www.env.health@highland.gov.uk or telephone 01349 886606.
Related Businesses
Related Articles
The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.
The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.
The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.
Households across Scotland have received £4.1 billion in relief since the Council Tax Reduction scheme was introduced in 2013. People on low incomes are eligible for the benefit if they live in Scotland - there is no equivalent in England where most councils require each household to contribute a minimum amount of council tax, irrespective of ability to do so.
The Highland Council is preparing to carry out improvement works in Thurso at Ormlie Road and at The Mall riverside path adjacent to Janet Street. The scope of works on Ormlie Road will include junction improvements between Castlegreen Road and Juniper Drive with new drop kerbs and tactile paving and some surface repairs.
A Highland-wide partnership launched earlier in 2024 to support people on their journey towards, into and within employment is looking forward to a New Year in 2025 full of exciting opportunities designed to help hundreds more people across the Highlands unlock their work potential. Work.
The Highland Council is delighted to share that its Energy Efficient Scotland: Area Based Scheme has won the Outstanding Project Award at the Scottish Green Energy Awards. Described by Scottish Renewables as a "pioneering clean power scheme", this £7 million project demonstrates the incredible impact that can be achieved through combined public and private sector investment.
The ambitious yet focused ‘Highland Investment Plan' is committed to addressing our asset challenges over the next twenty years. By using a place based approach, to ensure a more integrated community offering through the creation of new community facilities.
Applications to the Inverness Winter Payments Scheme, which is fully funded by the Inverness Common Fund, have already been awarded to 1,035 eligible households within the 7 specified Inverness Wards. Leader of Inverness Area, Councillor Ian Brown said: "Since the Scheme was opened to applications for this winter, already £114,885 has been awarded to people who live in the eligible Wards of Aird and Loch Ness, Inverness West, Inverness Central, Inverness Ness-side, Inverness Millburn, Culloden and Ardersier and Inverness South Wards.
The first Highland-wide virtual jobs fair held last month has proved to be a hit with participants and businesses. The week-long virtual event, which was delivered by the Local Employability Partnership for the West - The Highland Council, Skills Development Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Department for Work and Pensions, Developing the Young Workforce and UHI North West and Hebrides was timed to coincide with Scottish Careers Week 2024.
