Hotel company ordered to pay £18,000 after pleading guilty to food hygiene offences 

A hotel company has been ordered to pay more than £18,000 after pleading guilty to food hygiene and health and safety offences.

 

Daish’s Blackpool hotel, owner of Daish’s hotel on Blackpool Promenade, was prosecuted after inspectors found poor levels of cleanliness, stagnant water in a container beneath the sink and pans stored on the floor.

 

A chest freezer that was labelled as ‘gluten free’ was also found to be storing foods containing gluten, creating a contamination risk to those with an allergy.

 

Daish’s Blackpool hotel pleaded guilty to five food hygiene offences and two health and safety offences at Preston Magistrates’ Court in July.

 

It was ordered to pay a £14,000 fine, £2,000 victim surcharge and £2612.10 in costs.

 

The company had previously been cautioned for food hygiene offences in February 2022.

 

Cllr Paula Burdess, Blackpool Council cabinet member for community safety, street scene and neighbourhoods, said: “Our food control officers were shocked by what they discovered during their inspection.

 

“The company was found to be flouting regulations put in place to keep the public safe, and the company has been successfully prosecuted. Such conduct will not be tolerated.

 

“We are pleased that the court imposed a fine which reflects the seriousness of the offences, and hopefully this will deter other businesses from operating in such a way that could put the public at risk.”

 

Hotel response

 

Paul Harper, commercial director for Daish’s Holidays, said the hotel was awarded a food hygiene rating of four when it was re-inspected in April this year.

 

He said the hotel team were "disappointed" that the council had decided to seek prosecution for a historical zero rating given in August 2023.

 

Harper added in a statement: "Daish’s Holidays has a track record of achieving high-quality food standards across its group of hotels, and we were extremely dismayed that Daish’s Blackpool Hotel fell below the standard that we expect.
 
"We took immediate steps to rectify the situation following the result of the 2023 inspection. This included actioning a deep clean in the kitchen over the course of three days, using additional staff resources from our other hotels to ensure swift completion to an exceptionally high standard.

 

"We also completely restructured our operations department as a result of an investigation into how the situation had occurred.
 
"I want to apologise to any guests who experienced concerns following the initial publication of the rating, and personally reassure everyone that our customary high standards have not wavered since our swift rectification of the issue."

 

Image: Blackpool Council