Two women have been banned from running a food business after a council investigation led to their prosecution.
Laura West and Donna Flanagan, who ran Butter Me Up cafe in Bishopsworth, admitted breaching a string of food safety standards.
At an earlier hearing, West, of Paybridge Road, Withywood, who was employed at the premises, pleaded guilty to five contraventions. Flanagan, of Ilchester Road, Bedminster Down, who had earlier been involved with the premises, pleaded guilty to not registering the café with Bristol City Council.
The case was committed to Bristol Crown Court for sentencing on Friday, November 29.
Both West and Flanagan were fined and ordered to pay prosecution costs totalling £2,937 and £2,855 respectively.
The pair were also given an open-ended Hygiene Prohibition Order, banning them from participating in the management of any food business which, if breached, amounts to a criminal offence which could lead to a prison sentence.
During an investigation in July 2018, officers discovered the business had been operating since November 2015 but had not been registered with the council since it opened. The café was also displaying a food safety sticker with a rating of 5, the highest rating, which belonged to a previous business at the same address.
Environmental health officers noted a range of further food safety offences, including little to no food hygiene and safety training, no written food safety management, poor pest control and lack of reliable disinfection practices.
Environmental swabs and a cloth that had been used for handling equipment showed food poisoning bacteria were widespread throughout the premises, indicating poor cleaning practices.
Cllr Steve Pearce, cabinet member with responsibility for regulatory services, said: “All the contraventions could have been resolved with little or no additional financial cost.
"This showed a disregard of the serious nature of food hygiene and safety. The business potentially put customers at risk, as well as misleading them into believing the business had a hygiene rating of 5 – the highest level – which it did not.
“Our environmental health officers work extremely hard to ensure that food businesses in Bristol operate to safe standards and that those who put the public’s health at risk are held to account.”
Food safety issues can be reported to Bristol City Council by emailing food.safety@bristol.gov.uk or by phoning 0117 922 2500.
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