Turkish owner who was away following family bereavement says his staff let him down
Seven Sisters Pizza & Kebab, in Seven Sisters Road, where officers found droppings all over the shop floor and counters
A Turkish-speaking takeaway owner was fined nearly £2000 after his store was found riddled with cockroaches and rodent droppings.
Erdem Sert, who runs Seven Sisters Pizza & Kebab, in Seven Sisters Road, admitted a string of food hygiene offences when he appeared at Highbury Magistrates Court on 2 July.
The store was immediately shut down by Haringey Council food safety officers after they found cockroaches crawling on the work surfaces.
The owner told Londra Gazete he had trusted staff with looking after the store following the sudden death of his uncle.
“I had to return to Turkey after my uncle died and that is when the council officers visited,” he said.
“The shop was only closed for one week and after that the council inspected and reopened it.”
He said he took responsibility for what happened during his absence.
Erdem Sert, who lives in Hackney, was fined £500 for failing to keep the premises free from pests, £500 for not protecting food from the risk of contamination and £250 for failing to keep the premises in good repair, as well as a £50 victim surcharge. He was also ordered to pay full costs of £550.
Stuart McNamara, Haringey cabinet member for environment, said: “The majority of food stores in Haringey adhere to food safety regulations. However, in this case Mr Sert obviously fell well short of what is expected and the condition of his store was putting his customers at risk.
“The safety of the public is our priority and where we find stores that fall below the required standards we will take action.”
