Lancashire hotel fined £33,000 over filthy kitchens

A Lancashire hotel has been fined £33,000 after kitchens were found to be in a filthy state.

WEC Group, which own the Old Rosins in Hoddlesden, admitted a series of breaches of the food hygiene regulations during an appearance before Blackburn magistrates.

Prosecutor Sajada Khan told the court that when environmental health inspectors visited the hotel they found mouldy food, and surfaces contaminated with dried food waste and dirt.

They also found that records of when food had been prepared and when it should be discarded were not up to date.

Records of when fridges were cleaned and when temperature checks were made on fridges were also not kept properly.

Ms Khan continued: "The public safety is paramount in these situations and high standards should have been maintained."

Evidence was given that staff had been warned over these problems during a previous inspection, but this information had not been passed on to WEC management.

Defence lawyer Michael Blacklidge stated in mitigation: "My clients were never told by hotel staff about the earlier inspection and if they had been they would not be in court today."

He added that once WEC management were made aware of the situation  a new general manager and a new head chef were appointed and procedures put in place to ensure there could never be any repetition.

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By Andrew Smith

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