Record fine for Peninsula Chinese restaurant in 'disgraceful state' (From News Shopper)

Mouse droppings, grease and rotting food at Peninsula Chinese restaurant in Bugsby's Way, Greenwich

10:25am Monday 23rd January 2012 in Food & Drink By Mark Chandler

A CHINESE restaurant which packs in hundreds of hungry Greenwich diners every night has been handed a record fine and branded “a disaster waiting to happen”.

Owners of the Peninsula Restaurant in Bugsby’s Way were fined £54,000 and banned from running restaurants in the future after admitting 18 breaches of food hygiene regulations.

The restaurant was closed following a visit last April when environmental health officers found mouse droppings amongst packets of food, next to plates and inside a roll of cling film in the kitchen.

Thick grease lined the floor beneath the cooking range, while vegetables had been left to rot on the floor of the walk-in fridge.

No paper towels at hand basins meant it was difficult for kitchen staff to maintain good standards of personal hygiene, Greenwich Council said.

Despite being closed, in accordance with food laws, the council had to let the business reopen after eight days once the kitchen was cleaned and the original mouse infestation treated.

It is the second time the venue, which was recently handed a four-star review by Time Out magazine, has been prosecuted in two years.

Back in February 2010 the owners were fined £13,500 after similar breaches.

At Woolwich Crown Court on January 19, Judge Charles Byers told restaurant owners Crestdane, the kitchen was in a “disgraceful state” and the conditions were a “disaster waiting to happen.”

Greenwich cabinet member for community safety and environment Councillor Maureen O’Mara said: “The hygiene conditions at this restaurant were an absolute disgrace.

“The key priority seemed to be placing profits over offering good quality food by operating with a blatant disregard for the health of their customers.

“We have tried to support the restaurant to clean up its act, but they have consistently failed to do so.”

At the time of going to press, the restaurant was still open for business.

For food safety advice call 020 8921 8177 or email health@greenwich.gov.uk