Murdo has raised his concerns about a plethora of food hygiene breaches discovered at restaurants and take-away premises in Fife that have included rats, cross contamination, poor cleanliness, no hot water, a defective hot water boiler and poor storage for chilled food.
The shocking finds were made by Fife Council staff who carried out inspections of food premises across The Kingdom between February 2021 to November this year. A total of 24 premises were found to have some breaches of food hygiene regulations, with nine subsequently voluntarily closing following inspection.
The details were supplied to the Scottish Conservatives through Freedom of Information.
Two of these premises, namely Lee Cottage in Lochgelly and Sunny’s Kitchen in Glenrothes were found to have cross-contamination issues, with the latter also having a ventilation breach and no hot water boiler. Both these premises then voluntarily closed.
Commenting, Murdo Fraser MSP said: “This long list of food hygiene breaches is very concerning indeed and highlights how some restaurants and take-away outlets were lax, and how their bad habits led to rats in some instances and other breaches, including cross-contamination, which is worrying. I’m sure residents will be alarmed when they read of all the breaches but also pleased to know that these were picked up by Fife Council staff.
“Some of these restaurant or take-away outlet owners obviously seemed to think they could carry on with their dirty habits, but cleanliness and keeping food in proper storage are imperative in such establishments. It is disgusting to think of some of these breaches, especially if you have eaten at one of the restaurants in question, or had a take-away meal from one, so the data also underlines how important to carry out regular inspections of the eateries.”
Murdo continued: “Food hygiene regulations are there for a reason. Some of the details of these breaches are horrific.”
