Takeaway scuttled by rodent residents

The Dragon Palace , a Chinese takeaway on London Road , Westcliff-on-Sea, was immediately ordered to stop preparing and selling food after a routine inspection revealed:  

• live mice in a gnawed box of dried noodles in the store room
• a dead mouse nearby
• a dead mouse beneath the sinks and
• mice droppings throughout the premises.

On Tuesday 30th November, Southend Magistrates' Court confirmed the closure with an emergency prohibition order.

The premises were previously inspected in December 2009 when officers discovered problems with pest control and the management of safe food preparation.

These issues would have been evident to the public as the Dragon Palace gained only one star (non-compliant with legal standards) on the "Scores on the doors" rating scheme http://www.scoresonthedoors.org.uk/

Despite detailed written advice from environmental health officers, and the provision of several hours of training, similar problems were still occurring on 25th November.

In addition to evidence of mice, staff members were also found to be not washing their hands and anti-bacterial cleaning liquids, although present, were not being used for cleaning.

Southend-on-Sea Borough Council's Executive Councillor for Public Protection and Waste, Councillor Tony Cox, said: "It is essential that premises serving food have the highest possible standards.

"Our environmental health team works very hard to try and make sure that these standards are met for the health and safety of our residents and visitors.

"An infestation of mice is very dangerous. They not only pass on harmful bacteria when gnawing food but they also urinate very regularly, so work surfaces and the hands of staff also become contaminated.

"Bacteria therefore will pass from the insides of mice to the insides of humans which clearly is an unacceptable risk to public health.

"Officers will now decide what further formal action ought to be taken against the food business operators."