A senior councillor has welcomed the closure of an Armley sandwich shop on health grounds.
Emma’s Sandwich Shop on Wortley Road, Armley, has been permanently closed after officers discovered a raft of food hygiene failures, including evidence of an active rat infestation.
Environmental health officers said rat droppings also littered the area, including where open food was being handled and among soft drinks containers, and a rat was observed on one inspection running behind fridges and freezers in the kitchen.
Officers also discovered the sink had a lack of hot running water for washing hands.
Proprietor Dawn Smith pleaded guilty at Leeds Crown Court to 14 food safety offences, including breaching a closure order when she continued to open for business despite the council issuing a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice (HEPN) requiring the premises to close with immediate effect.
The judge yesterday (Friday, 28 February) handed Ms Smith a 16-month custodial sentence, suspended for two years, and approved Leeds City Council’s application for a Hygiene Prohibition Order, banning her from participating in the management of any food business.
She was also ordered to complete 25 rehabilitation activity days and pay a victim surcharge of £187.
Councillor Mohammed Rafique, Leeds City Council’s executive member for climate, energy, environment and green space, said: “Our officers took swift action against this business as soon as it became clear there was an imminent risk to public health.
“These are incredibly serious offences and the operator’s repeated failure to improve standards and comply with improvement notices show a flagrant disregard to food safety.
“I’d like to thank the environmental health officers for their hard work in prosecuting this case and preventing this operator from managing any food business in the future.
“It is absolutely vital that food businesses are kept clean and in good repair in line with stringent food safety legislation. A failure to do so could potentially result in terrible consequences for the public and we will always take action against any owners not abiding by these laws.”
Leeds Live reported in May 2022 that Emma’s Sandwich Bar was told to ‘clean and degrease all surfaces’ – but staff had claimed the inspector was ‘harsh’. And last year the Yorkshire Post reported a Food Standard Agency inspection giving the cafe a zero star rating.