Cockroach Bakery Owner Receives Fine
Illawarra Mercury
Friday May 25, 2007
THE operator of a Wollongong hot bread shop that was crawling with cockroaches has been fined $2000.
A customer complaint of rodent excrement baked into sliced bread and live cockroaches in the bread display led to the prosecution, Wollongong Local Court heard yesterday.Kim Son Ho, who ran Kim Paris Hot Bread in Crown St, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with standards under the Clean Food Act on October 12 last year.Council heath inspector Chris Pike recommended the prosecution after a visit to the shop on October 12, five days after a customer complained to the NSW Food Authority about the rodent excrement and cockroaches."I saw many dead and live cockroaches, dirt, dust and accumulated food waste on equipment, utensils and fittings," he reported."I saw the floor and the counters and the self-service fridge was dirty with accumulated food waste, grease, dead and live cockroaches."He also said the walls in the bakery section were greasy and dirty and splashed with accumulated food waste, flour, dust and mould."I opened a white container of sugar and saw a live cockroach in the sugar," Mr Pike said.He said he also saw open bags of flour and other food products unprotected from the likely contamination of pests and foreign matter.Insects, dirt and grease were found on the surface of equipment such as the oven, the prover room, the bun press, the dough mixer and the bread slicer.When questioned how long it had been since she cleaned the shop, Ho said "every Sunday".The shop's history showed the council had issued an infringement notice of $330 for failing to comply with the Food Standards Code on June 23, 2005. It also showed it was given an improvement notice in December that year which it only partially complied with.Solicitor Graeme Morrison said his client had worked at the shop with her husband for eight years despite the fact they separated seven years ago.He said there had been attempts to control cockroaches but they were a common problem in old premises.Mr Morrison said Ho had five children and was finding the long hours difficult.He said the Hos cleaned the shop to standard after they were prosecuted but not long after that they decided to close the shop.Magistrate Paul Johnson said food shop owners had an obligation to keep premises clean and this shop and the operators had clearly failed in that duty.The maximum fine in the lower court is $10,000 but Mr Johnson said he took into account the plea, efforts to comply and the fact it was the operator's first offence in court.
© 2007 Illawarra Mercury
