£20k Bill for Café that Flouted Hygiene and Safety Laws

September 21, 2016 by Southend Borough Council

A café in Southchurch has been left with a court bill of over £20k for food-hygiene and health-and-safety offences.

Ms Agneska De’Ath (nee Janaszek), director of the Crown Café/ Bistro Limited, and her limited company were found guilty at Southend Magistrates Court on 14th September 2016 for two food hygiene offences and one health and safety offence, which occurred at the Crown Café at 458 Southchurch Road, Southend-on-Sea.

During an inspection at the Crown Café in August 2015, a Chartered Environmental Health Practitioner from Southend-on-Sea Borough Council found the café had no wash hand basin for hand washing only in the kitchen, no documented food safety management system to ensure the safe production of foods and a lack of maintenance to the electrical installation at the café.

As a result, two Hygiene Improvement Notices and one Health and Safety Improvement Notice were served on The Crown Café/ Bistro Limited for the attention of Ms Janaszek. Subsequent visits to the café on 15 and 18 September found the improvement notices had not been acted upon.

Magistrates heard the evidence given by Ms Janaszek and found her and her limited company guilty to three offences.

Ms Agneska De’Ath (née Janaszek) was fined £1,440 and her company The Crown Café/ Bistro Limited was fined £16,000. Ms Janaszek was ordered to pay £1,000 costs and her limited company was order to pay £2,162.50 costs. Both Ms Janaszek and her limited company must also pay a victim surcharge totalling £188.

Executive Councillor for Housing, Planning and Public Protection Services, Cllr Mark Flewitt, welcomed the court’s decision. He said: “It is regrettable that our environmental health officers had to take this course of action but The Crown Café/ Bistro Limited and Ms Janaszek failed to comply with the requirements despite repeated advice and warnings.

“We hope this successful prosecution sends out a clear message to food businesses that you must take your responsibilities for food hygiene and health and safety seriously and we will take any action necessary to protect the public from harm.”

Ms Agnaszek is no longer running the Crown Café.