A mobile food truck operator has been convicted of serious breaches of food hygiene legislation following a successful prosecution by the Vale of Glamorgan Council.
Shared Regulatory Services, which enforces food hygiene standards and carries out a range of other work on behalf of Local Authorities in the Cardiff, Bridgend and the Vale brought a case against Jamie O’Leary.
He ran JOL’S Food Truck from Ogmore-by-Sea beach car park, which was given a food hygiene rating of zero, meaning urgent improvement is necessary, after what inspectors described as a ‘blatant disregard for food safety.’
Mr O’Leary failed to display this rating, a legal requirement, meaning customers were unable to make an informed decision about whether to purchase food from him.
Cllr Ruba Sivagnanam, Vale of Glamorgan Council Cabinet Member for Community Engagement, Equalities and Regulatory Services, said:“Hygiene ratings are important. They refer to the standards and behaviours within a business and are a key reference for customers.
“Food outlets need to satisfy a range of specific criteria to gain each rating, from one to five. There are no shortcuts to achieving this – it requires a commitment to good practice.
“This business was given a rating of zero after inspectors found numerous hygiene violations over a sustained period of time.
“The premises was extremely unclean, with food at serious risk of contamination after it was not stored, transported or prepared properly. This posed a significant risk to the public and meant major improvement was needed to bring it up to an acceptable level.
“Mr O’Leary failed to make the necessary improvements and deliberately misled customers about his zero rating. It is highly likely some of them would have chosen not to buy from his truck had they been aware of this fact.
“I hope this prosecution sends out a clear message that the Council will rigorously enforce food hygiene standards and take strong action against those that breach them.
“Hygiene ratings are vital assessments of food outlets and anyone found to be doctoring or hiding them will also face serious consequences.”
The inspecting officer from Shared Regulatory Services witnessed numerous poor hygiene practices by Mr O’Leary’s untrained employee who was working on the van.
This included not washing hands after handling raw meat then touching and serving-ready-to eat foods.
No hand soap was available, the van and food contact equipment were in a filthy condition and the fridge had broken resulting in food being exposed to high temperatures.
Mr O’Leary blamed his employee for the findings during the inspection, even though he had been present himself in the days leading up to the visit. He also failed to provide his staff member with appropriate food hygiene training, supervision and instruction.
An Environmental Health Officer first inspected Mr O’Leary’s mobile van on 30 May last year when the fridge storing ready-to-eat foods was broken resulting in food being at temperatures as high as 19.6 degrees Celsius, more than 10 degrees above the maximum allowed.
The officer served an Action Notice preventing the fridge from being used and its content was surrendered as it was considered unfit for human consumption.
Poor hygiene practices observed by the inspecting officer also included defrosting raw fish in the wash hand basin with an open packet of raw mince on top of the fish.
Raw liquid egg was found in a container inside the sink, while equipment was being cleaned on a gastronome tray placed on the car park floor.
A surface was also being used for raw meat and ready-to-eat foods without correct cleaning and disinfection.
The premises and equipment, including temperature probes, a potable water container, food bowls, tongs, and a spatula were found to be grimy with a build-up of engrained dirt over a prolonged period of time.
The walls were mucky, the ventilation system was thick with grease, the gill was covered with grease and carbonised food debris and the bin was overflowing with the contents spilling onto the floor.
Mr O’Leary admitted during interview that he had relied on training his employee claimed to have received from another employer seven years earlier and had not checked if this took place.
There was also no documented food safety management system available for the food business.
Conditions at the van were so poor and presented such a serious risk of contamination to food that the officer served a second action notice preventing the handling and storage of raw foods meaning Mr O’Leary was restricted to selling only tea and coffee.
The Environmental Health Officer returned two days after the initial inspection, on June 1 2023, and though some improvements had been made, the premises and equipment were still dirty and hygiene training had not been not competed.
Mr O’Leary also showed the officer a large insulated box used to transport food which was also extremely unclean.
Further unannounced visits were made to the van on June 29 and August 9 last year when it and food contact equipment remained in a dirty condition.
The hygiene rating was still not on display and a Fixed Penalty Notice was served which has never been paid.
Mr O’Leary allowed his employee to continue working on the van for a month after the inspection without food hygiene training or supervision and a documented food safety management system was not complied within the specified timescale.
Despite officer interventions, the business consistently failed to display their food hygiene rating.
Mr O’Leary was fined £334 and ordered to pay the Council costs amounting to £2283.75, while his company received a £50 fine.
