A CHINESE takeaway in Burnham-on-Sea has been fined for eight food hygiene offences.

Wai Tung Lee of the China Garden Chinese takeaway in Abingdon Street and was fined £320 as well as having to pay £200 in costs.

The matter was dealt with at Taunton Magistrates Court yesterday (Tuesday, June 26) after Sedgemoor District Council's Environmental Health Department brought eight food hygiene offences forward following an inspection in December 2017.

As a result of the conviction, the Magistrates also imposed a Hygiene Prohibition Order on the premises preventing trading until such time as the condition of the premises and equipment was brought up to an acceptable standard.

The prosecution arose from an unannounced food hygiene inspection undertaken on December 12, 2017.

A spokesman for Sedgemoor District Council said: "That inspection revealed a general poor standard of food hygiene including the premises being unclean and in poor repair and condition, inadequate hand washing facilities including no hot water or cleaning and drying facilities.

"Surfaces, fittings and equipment in contact with food were not in sound condition enabling them to be cleaned and disinfected.

"There was a failure to remove refuse; failure to store raw materials in appropriate conditions; failure to implement and maintain HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) procedures and a general lack of understanding of food hygiene principles."


Further inspections in February and June revealed a slight improvement in cleanliness but still many of the issues identified in December remained.

Owner of premises is Wai Tung Lee has been registered with Environmental Health since August 2005 and Environmental Health Officers have been working with him to help him improve his food hygiene status.