Wick trader failed to heed food hygiene rules

On Friday (May 24) at Worthing Magistrates’ Court, Suventhiny Kanapathipillai, of Wick Parade Mini Market, in Wick Street, was found guilty of two offences under the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006. She will be sentenced on June 10.

From October 2008 to December 2012, officers of Arun District Council’s environmental health food team found out-of-date food on display, a faulty hot water heater, and food not under correct temperature control.

Kanapathipillai was required to provide a documented food safety management system to ensure she checked for potential problems at her business, which would have been examined by officers during routine inspections. However, despite “significant guidance” given by the food team during visits to her shop, Kanapathipillai repeatedly failed to produce these and was served a hygiene improvement notice in December, 2012.

Subsequent visits showed she had failed to comply with this notice, which is a criminal offence.

Paul Dendle, Arun cabinet member for environmental services, said: “Food businesses must have systems in place to ensure that the food they sell is safe. In this case food safety procedures were flawed which resulted in food being stored at the wrong temperature and food on display beyond its use-by date, which can have serious health implications for customers.”