Mucky mice made merry at ‘Made in Italy’

An Italian restaurant chain was hit with a £75,000 fine after a judge said he was ‘scandalised’ to hear diners could have been served mouse droppings with their puddings.

Inspectors found rodent faeces in dessert glasses and sugar shakers at a West End branch of Made in Italy.

District Judge Michael Snow said the contamination posed a ‘significant risk to human health.’

He added: ‘Frankly I’m scandalised by this. Mouse droppings were even found on the top of a sugar shaker used for desserts. The contamination is going straight on the food.’

The chain has seven restaurants across the capital and an annual turnover of £5 million.

Westminster Council inspectors were called to the Marylebone branch in January last year after a customer complained that the eatery ‘smelt like mouse urine’.

They found mouse droppings in the basement area of the James Street restaurant, including underneath the pizza oven and inside dessert glasses.

Rodent faeces was also found on the shakers used to dust puddings with sugar before being served.

The family-run business admitted failing to put in place adequate procedures to control pests, not keeping a food premises clean and not keeping articles and fittings that come into contact with food clean or disinfected.

Giuseppe Corsaro, 34, company secretary and brother of company director Angelo Corsaro, appeared at Wesminster Magistrates’ Court to enter the guilty pleas.

His sister Valentina, 39, sobbed quietly next to as their father, who the court heard recently came out of retirement to help with the company, sat stoney faced.

Champa Gurnani, prosecuting, said: ‘This restaurant is an Italian restaurant – it’s divided into a basement, kitchen and food storeroom. On the ground floor there’s a customer seating area and pizza oven.

‘Upstairs is a dining room and a bar. The reason for the visit by the environmental health officer was as a result of a complaint received by a member of the public. They saw mouse faeces and said they smelt mouse urine in the premises.

‘The officer attended on 11 January last year. The officer himself could smell a strong odour of mouse urine emanating from the corner of the kitchen.’

Mouse droppings were found near open food in the kitchen, under a hand wash basin and in changing rooms where kitchen staff uniforms were kept.

A hole was found under the sink, which was described as a ‘potential entry point’ for the pests.

Droppings were found under shelving and it was said that the underneath of the kitchen floor was covered in dirt, debris and grease.

Ms Gurnani said: ‘Mouse droppings were found in a cooking pan, and in the dessert glasses. Finally they were found in sugar shakers used on desserts.

‘The officer attending decided there was an imminent risk to public health due to an uncontrollable infestation of mice. He decided the premises must be closed.’

But the restaurant was ‘fit to be reopened’ on 18 January last year.

Officers re-visited the restaurant several more times over the year, the prosecutor said, with cockroaches found during one visit in July.

‘There had been little to no improvement. Three months later, in October 2017, mouse faeces were found’, said Ms Gurnani.

The Marylebone restaurant currently has a hygiene rating of one star on the Food Standards Agency website.

Jeremy Woodgrave, defending, said: ‘I’m told that this site is somewhat the exception to the rule. They don’t have these problems on other sites.

‘The company has told me that this is a challenging location. There are a number of food outlets in close proximity, the mice problem is a long running and long standing issue.

‘At the time of closure there was a significant increase of activity due to building work next door.’

Mr Woodgrave said the company did have systems and manuals in place to prevent infestations and uphold hygiene standards.

‘Clearly there’s a good deal of paperwork but clearly it must be accepted in this case the paperwork did not achieve the desired objective’, said Mr Woodgrave.

The court was told the restaurant group has a previous conviction of not controlling pests at a different site eight years ago.

The family claim all of its other restaurants have a five star hygiene rating.

Judge Snow said: ‘Frankly I’m scandalised by this, I’m scandalised that my family, my friends, people who visit London might end up going to one of these restaurants.

‘You expect to have good food and food kept in a hygienic situation and not be put in a situation where they may well end up consuming something contaminated by mice.

‘The reputation of London as a city is going to be dragged through the mud if this sort of thing is allowed to continue.

‘The premises here – the basement and downstairs – is absolutely infected by mice. Mouse droppings are even found on the top of a sugar shaker used for desserts. The contamination is going straight on the food. There was a significant risk to human health.

‘The company has a previous conviction for a food hygiene offence. The company has a poor food hygiene record.’

Mr Woodgrave told the court the restaurant has recently been in financial difficulties following the diagnosis of the family’s matriarch with a rare form of cancer. He said the family’s focus was ‘not where it should have been’ as a result.

Judge Snow ordered Made in Italy to pay £75,000 in fines for three counts of failing to comply with EU food safety and hygiene regulations.

The restauranteurs were also ordered to pay costs of £1,745 and a surcharge of £130, totalling £76,875.

Councillor Danny Chalkley, Cabinet Member for City Highways and Public Protection, said:

‘Westminster Council food hygiene inspectors found the Made in Italy kitchen in a truly appalling state, with mouse faeces and urine on everything from the knives to the uniforms.

‘Due to the severe health risks Made in Italy posed, the restaurant was shut and later fined over £76,000.

‘This case demonstrates that Westminster City Council will not only shut restaurants that represent a health risk, we will prosecute and pursue serious fines.’
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