Burger van owner denies breaching food hygiene regulations (From The Argus)

Burger van owner denies breaching food hygiene regulations

3:10pm Thursday 27th November 2008 in

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The owner of a busy mobile burger bar has denied letting his plumber brother serve customers when he had cuts and sores on his hands.

Nasser Alavi also denies allowing grease and dirt to build up inside his Munch Box burger van.

He told a court he spends an hour cleaning the van from top to bottom at the end of every day.

Alavi, 48, said grease found on surfaces by a Brighton and Hove City Council health inspector was a normal amount for one day.

He said his brother, a registered gas plumber, had fixed a gas leak on one of the tea urns in the van at Wickes building supply store’s car park in Davigdor Road, Hove Customer Robert Lambert said he rang the city council to complain after seeing a man with dirt under his nails and cuts and sores on his fingers handling food on January 25.

Environmental health inspector Audrey Sharma said Alavi told her his brother was a plumber who helped him serve tea to customers when he was busy. She also told the jury at Hove Crown Court she found grease on the ceiling, walls, floor and almost everything she moved in the van.

Alavi said: “My brother helped himself to a cup of tea after he finished fixing the gas pipe. I did not see him handle any food. He took his tea and then left. I did not say he helped to serve tea to customers.

“When you are cooking with grease it splashes all over the place and everything gets covered in it. It takes me an hour at the end of the day to clean the whole van. I have never failed to clean it every day.

“The surfaces are so clean afterwards that you could lick them.”

The court was told that Brighton and Hove City Council issued five improvement notices to Alavi under food hygiene regulations in November last year. He had done most of the work when the van was inspected again in December.

But it is alleged he had allowed hygiene standards to lapse again by the time Mr Lambert complained in January.

Alavi, of Windsor Close, Hove, denies nine charges of breaching the Food Hygiene Regulations 2006.

Four more charges were dropped on Tuesday after Judge Anthony Niblett ruled there was no case to answer. The trial continues.