Green Kitchen ordered to shut for third time due to health risks

Owner Chang Yun Wang was allowed to reopen on July 1 after a clean-up operation.

It is the third time he has closed the business for hygiene reasons since December, but the first time it has been forced to close rather than doing it voluntarily.

It closed for three days after an inspector's visit on December 9 last year to clean up, but when council officers returned on June 24, they found unhygienically stored food which they confiscated and the shop agreed to close for the evening for another cleaning session.

It was the first time food safety officers in the Capital had used their powers to confiscate unsafe food.

On their most recent visit on June 29, inspectors were so appalled with what they saw that they ordered the takeaway to close immediately.

They saw staff fail to wash their hands before handling cooked food, cooked ribs handled next to dirty containers and utensils, and cooked sauces left cooling on the draining board next to dirty containers and utensils, some of which had traces of blood on them.

They also found food stored in dirty and damaged containers, food left unprotected from contamination in the fridge and raw meat stored alongside both cooked meat and salad items.

A dirty cloth was used to cover cooked rice and a tray of rice was left at room temperature next to trays of raw meat.

The move to force instant closure of the takeaway was retrospectively approved on Monday in the Sheriff Court.

The court heard that the officers had advised the proprietor on how to reduce the risks, but he had not cooperated.

The council said it did not have the power to permanently close a food business, although if an operator was convicted for hygiene offences they could be prohibited by the courts from operating a food business for at least six months.

Cllr Robert Aldridge, the city's environment leader, said: "I applaud the swift and effective action taken to safeguard the health of the public. This sends out a clear message to restaurant and takeaway operators that they must adhere to food hygiene requirements or face the consequences."

Joanna Xiao, a member of staff at the Green Kitchen, said: "The inspectors came last week and told us it was fine. We did everything asked and we're doing our best to clean. It's really fine now - we're open."