Lye dessert shop fined over £5,000 for breaching safety standards

Following an inspection by Dudley Council’s environmental health officers, a case was brought against D’Luxe Enterprises Ltd and its director Yusuf Razak.

Officers found six breaches of food and hygiene safety laws at D'Luxe Desserts, on Lye's High Street, including failure to keep the premises clean and maintained in good repair.

They also found that the business had failed to ensure that equipment which came into contact with food was kept clean and in a good condition, and there was a failure to ensure the hand wash basin located in the kitchen was provided with suitable facilities.

The case was heard in Dudley Magistrates’ Court on August 31, where Razak pleaded guilty to all six charges including those against the company.

The company was fined £5,332 for the two most serious offences, ordered to pay £1,034 to cover half of the council’s costs and a victim surcharge of £190.

Mr Razak was fined £230 for the same two offences, ordered to pay £1,034 to cover the remaining costs to the council and a victim surcharge of £46. A collection order was made against him with 28 days to pay.

The company was ordered to pay £546 per calendar month with the first payment within 28 days.

Councillor Ian Bevan, cabinet member for public health, said: "In this case, the defendant acknowledged the error of his ways and entered early guilty pleas, which was looked at favourably by the court.

"That said, what environmental health officers found on the premises was totally unacceptable and really does demonstrate the need for inspections to ensure safety standards are upheld and people are brought to account when they fail to do so.

"Poor food and hygiene standards put people’s health at risk and will not be tolerated across our borough. This was a successful case and I’m pleased we were able to recover all of our costs."