Smethwick sweets wholesaler fined for 'dirty conditions' at premises

Mr Bubbles Ltd, the confectionary wholesaler and packer, was fined £18,000 at Wolverhampton Magistrates' Court after admitting a raft of health and safety and food hygiene charges relating to their Smethwick premises.

The company’s director, 45-year-old Harvinder Dohal, was also fined £2,400 for the same offences.

Both the company and director had pleaded guilty to the charges brought by Sandwell Council – for failing to maintain the premises and equipment in a clean condition and ensuring that people could not fall a distance likely to cause personal injury.

The council’s environmental officers found an unguarded mezzanine edge, dirty conditions and evidence of pest activity when a routine food hygiene inspection was undertaken on November 16, 2017.

Further poor standards of cleanliness were found at a revisit of the premises, at the Heath Street Industrial Estate, in Abberley Street, on November 20, 2017.

At the court hearing on February 21, the company and director were also ordered to pay council costs of £3,840.71 and a statutory victim surcharge of £290.

Councillor Elaine Costigan, Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for public health and protection, said: “We take health and safety and food hygiene matters very seriously.

“While we work closely with food businesses to support them, in this case officers had no choice but to take enforcement action because of the safety risk to people working at the business and members of the public.

“I welcome this action taken by environmental health and legal services officers and hope that it acts as a deterrent to other food businesses that do not comply with the law.”