A TAKEAWAY pizza owner has been fined for serving mouldy, rotten food to customers.
The vast majority of food served at Pizza Max in Spring Bank was inedible, an inspection found.
Takeaway owner Daljit Singh Mahi was prosecuted for food hygiene offences at Hull Magistrates' Court.
His company was ordered to pay £800 and Mahi was personally fined £1,350.
Councillor John Hewitt, the city council's portfolio holder for neighbourhoods and communities, said: "These dreadful conditions were found during a routine inspection of the pizza takeaway conducted by Environmental Health officers and they were shocked at the amount of mouldy and rotten food found.
"The shop was closed immediately and was only allowed to reopen when conditions had improved considerably.
"I would urge the public to use the Food Hygiene Rating scheme to check the hygiene for establishments that they order food from, dine in or shop from."
The inspection, on December 18 last year, also found there was no documented food safety management system and no protective overclothes were worn.
There were also no hand-wash facilities and cross-contamination issues in the fridges and on work surfaces.
The shop was filthy and in a poor state of repair.
Mahi and his company pleaded guilty to all nine charges against them.
Magistrates heard the case on Friday, June ,7 and it was prosecuted by Environmental Health officers.
Mahi agreed to voluntarily close the business following the inspection and voluntarily surrendered all affected food for destruction.
The takeaway stopped trading in April this year, but before it did the Food Hygiene Rating issued was zero, meaning urgent improvement was necessary.
Visit www.hullcc.gov.uk or www.food.gov.uk/ratings to view Food Hygiene Ratings.
