Food firm fined after dead mice and droppings found

A firm and its director have been fined after inspections found evidence of a mice infestations at at two food premises in a shopping centre.

Officers from Luton Council discovered dead rodents at the Chai Link kiosk, at Luton Point, in October 2024, while mouse droppings were found at Pizza Link in crates used for storing onions and spices.

The inspections followed previous action for breaches of food hygiene regulations at the same businesses in 2023.

Pink Eatery Limited has been fined £18,000 with its director Syed Hussain Raza Bukhari fined £640 at Luton Magistrates' Court last month.

Pink Eatery was also order to pay £140 in costs and a £2,000 victim surcharge.

The director was ordered to pay £140 in costs and a £256 victim surcharge.

The Chai Link kiosk is once again serving customers after it received a food hygiene rating of four following another inspection. Pizza Link is no longer trading.

Councillor Rumi Chowdhury, Luton Council's portfolio holder for public health, said: "All food businesses must have permanent, ongoing and adequate procedures in place to monitor and control pests. We will not hesitate to take action where businesses fail to put the safety of the public first."

The council is advising businesses to use pest controllers that are members of the British Pest Control Association or the National Pest Technical Association.

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