Latest News - Prosecutions

Hutt Grill Ltd, trading as Hutt Grills, of 34 Cowley Mill Road, Uxbridge, appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court on Tuesday 13 May and pleaded guilty to seven offences in breach of the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013.

The company was fined £8,000 and required to pay a victim surcharge of £2,000 and the council's prosecution costs of £6,491.20. 

During a routine visit on 27 March 2024, the council's food hygiene and safety officers found dirty kitchen and food preparation areas, equipment in disrepair and encrusted with dirt and grime, bins full of day-old rubbish, and no shelf life and temperature controls for cooked and hot food. While cleaning chemicals were present, there was no evidence of them being used.

Officers also discovered a broken fridge and the main walk-in freezer sounding an alarm displaying a temperature of 30 degrees Celsius (48 degrees above the recommended temperature). When staff were asked to demonstrate how they checked food temperatures, they presented officers with dirty probe thermometers with no means to sanitise them before use. 

The council determined the business posed a significant health risk, giving it a food hygiene rating of zero, indicating urgent improvement was required, and served the owners with two hygiene improvement notices and an improvement notice on 10 April.  The notices required the business to implement the improvements, including the training of food handlers and providing accurate information of food allergens, by 11 July. The owners agreed to voluntarily temporarily close the premises.

During a follow-up visit on 12 July, officers found food preparation and service under way, however the premises had no hot water or disinfectants to clean food preparation areas and no soap at the staff wash basin. Employees admitted the hot water had been unavailable for several days, contradicting the owner's account that it had only been off from the morning, which posed a significant public health risk. 

Due to non-compliance with the three improvement notices, the owners agreed to once again temporarily close the business while the water supply was reinstated. 

In mitigation Hutt Grills acknowledged and accepted the seriousness of the hygiene offences, expressed deep regret and apologised for the failings.

Since the investigation, the business has taken steps to address the failings and has made improvements, including staff completing formal hygiene training and addressing the issues in relation to allergens, and they were recently awarded a food hygiene rating of three, 'Generally Satisfactory', on 4 November 2024.    

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