Filth: Bentleigh food store fined

ROTTEN food, mould and dead flies are just some of the filth found in a Bentleigh food store that has been fined almost $70,000.

The CK Foodstore (C & K Group Pty Ltd) in Centre Rd and proprietor Guo Jing Chen were found guilty on May 16 of 22 breaches of the Food Act.

Both were fined a total of $67,500 and ordered to pay Glen Eira Council’s legal costs of $9000.

Last November, C & K Group Pty Ltd and Chen pleaded guilty to the same charges at Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court, where they were fined $10,000 and placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond without conviction.

A routine inspection by the council’s environmental health officers uncovered a long list of failures, including piles of meat and dirt on the floor in the meat-preparation area, and live and dead flies in the handbasin and meat and seafood preparation benches.

They also found fly zappers overflowing with dead flies; mould growing on walls in the seafood-preparation area; and piles of rotten, mouldy and unsanitary food items on the cool-room floor.

The washbasin in the meat preparation area was not working; dirty plastic sheeting and mouldy duct tape covered shelves; milk crates and wooden pellets were used as shelving; and there was no food grade sanitiser.

Council director of community services Peter Jones said officers routinely inspected all of Glen Eira’s 795 registered food businesses to ensure they produced safe food and complied with the Food Act.

“Council’s strong surveillance of local food premises ensures the public is protected against unhygienic practices and unsafe food,” he said.