Mould on fruit at filthy store

Blackpool Council inspectors found mouldy fruit and putrefying milk on visits to the Church Street store run by Zee Convenience Store Ltd

Zee Convenience Store Ltd was fined £12,000 by magistrates for six food safety breaches at its Church Street premises. It was ordered to pay £420 costs and a £170 victim surcharge.

Nobody from the company appeared in court and the case was proved in its absence.

Blackpool Council inspectors visited the store several times between August and November 2016, and hygiene improvement notices were served on the company and the management.

In August, dirt was on the floor throughout. Fruit and vegetables on display for sale were rotting and mouldy.

A curdled bottle of milk found in a rear sink in September was still there in October and the store was still dirty.

Coun Gillian Campbell, deputy leader of Blackpool Council, said: “It is shocking that despite repeat visits the store did not deal with the disgusting state of the premises.”