Court action for breaches of food hygiene
Published
Thursday 7 May, 2026
Updated
Thursday 7 May, 2026
Serious breaches of food hygiene and safety processes have cost a Sheerness takeaway more than £15,000.
Officers from Swale Borough Council visited Masala Reef, an Indian takeaway on Hope Street, multiple times throughout 2024 and 2025 to inspect the restaurant and found serious violations of the food hygiene and safety provision.
This included an infestation of mice, poor standards of cleaning, and processes and equipment which could lead to contamination, posing a significant risk to public health.
The restaurant did not fix these serious issues despite interventions and advice by the council, including obtaining a court order to temporarily close the business, ultimately resulting in the council instigating a prosecution.
The owners have since worked closely with the council and is now complying with their legal requirements and, at their last food hygiene inspection, the restaurant has been issued a food hygiene rating of 4, good.
Zero One Nine Ltd and Shairk Uddin Ahmed, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with specified EU provisions relating to food hygiene and food safety, which is an offence contrary to the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 at the Medway Magistrates’ Court on 24 April.
The court ordered Zero One Nine Ltd to pay a fine of £12,000 reduced by an early guilty plea to £8,040, a victim surcharge of £2,000, prosecution Costs of £1,859.60, totalling £11,899.60.
While Shairk Uddin Ahmed was ordered to pay £1,505 reduced by an early guilty plea to £1,003, a victim surcharge of £40, prosecution Costs of £1,859.60, totalling £3,263.60.
During the hearing the owners said they were sorry and explained that they want to continue working with the council to maintain a good standard of food hygiene and food safety.
Swale’s officers will continue to monitor the premises and provide advice to make sure the takeaway is safe to visit.
The council routinely inspect food premises across the borough to make sure that residents are safe when they are eating out, without needing to worry about getting sick.
Cllr Dolley Wooster, chair of the council’s environmental services and climate change committee, said:
“We work incredibly hard behind the scenes to make sure that you can eat out at Swale’s restaurants safely and without needing to worry about getting ill.
“Through regular inspections, enforcement action and providing advice, we work with restaurants to make sure they are following important food hygiene rules.
“Occasionally a food premises fails to address our concerns forcing us to take more drastic measures to keep you safe, including court action, and this large fine demonstrates just how serious the issues we found were.
“We will continue to monitor the situation, and all restaurants in Swale, to make sure food is handled and prepared correctly in a clean environment free from contamination, in order to keep our residents safe.”
