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Media Release
5 August 2009
Richmond fruit and vegetable shop fined $10,000
Yarra City Council has successfully prosecuted the proprietor of a Richmond fruit and vegetable shop which had been infested with rodents, and was in a filthy condition, with rotten fruit on the floor and a build-up of rubbish inside and outside the building.
Belinda Lac, the proprietor of Richmond Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Market, was fined $10,000 and ordered to pay Council $2000 in costs, after pleading guilty to 13 charges under the Food Act in a hearing before the Melbourne Magistrates Court on 3 August 2009.
Mayor Cr Amanda Stone said Council’s Public Health Officers had discovered unacceptable conditions in the Victoria Street shop during a routine inspection in July 2008.
“Rodent droppings were littered throughout the premises, and there were even parrots being kept within a cage inside the shop,” Cr Stone said.
“The hand basin where staff would be expected to wash their hands regularly was not connected properly to the water supply and, in any case, was hard to get to because of the accumulation of rubbish around it.”
Cr Stone said Council officers had served legal notice on Ms Lac to clean up the shop, and progress was made, with a pest control company assisting in ensuring the shop substantially complied with the Food Act later in 2008.
However, in a follow up inspection in January 2009, Council officers found evidence of rats, mice and flies within the shop, discovered rotten fruit kept inside the premises, and witnessed staff using a dirty knife and chopping board to cut fruit.
“We take no joy in having undertaken this prosecution, but it does demonstrate that we are serious about making sure food is prepared safely in Yarra food premises,” Cr Stone said.
“It is so important that we stamp out any unhygienic practices or conditions, because just one dirty food premises can seriously affect the health of so many people,” she said.
Cr Stone encouraged Yarra residents with concerns about any local food premises to contact Council’s Public Health Unit on 9205 5166.
Further information
For media enquiries about this issue, please contact:
Ainslie Gowan
Coordinator Communications and Public Relations
Richmond Town Hall
333 Bridge Road Richmond
Telephone 9205 5177, 0400 933 700
Email ainslie.gowan@yarracity.vic.gov.au
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