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According
to local media, a former city restaurateur facing charges after
mouse droppings were found in his kitchen has failed to attend his
court hearing - after contracting food poisoning.
Herman Rodrigues, 47, was due to
appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court recently to face the ten charges
being brought against himself and the company Indi Foods Limited.
These relate to an inspection
carried out by Edinburgh Council's environmental health officers in
April 2006, on the Suruchi restaurant in Nicholson Street, which
Rodrigues formerly owned.
The case was adjourned until May
30 after Rodrigues was unable to attend the hearing. Lawyers for
Rodrigues said later that he was currently in India and was so unwell
with food poisoning that he could not travel.
The continued delays to the case
led Sheriff Isabella McColl to comment: "I am surprised to
notice that Mr Rodrigues has now managed to avoid setting foot in
this building in relation to these charges for more than two years."
The charges against him allege
that he failed to properly maintain the premises of Suruchi, failed
to put in measures to control pests such as mice, and failed to
properly train staff. Indi Foods has since ceased trading and the
restaurant is under new management.
The charges state that at the
time of the inspection the restaurant's kitchen and storage areas
were not kept in a good state of repair, with officers claiming the
dry store room and kitchen had accumulations of dirt, grease, food
debris and mouse droppings. The inspection also raised charges that
the kitchen's drainage facilities were inadequate, claiming a waste
pipe servicing the wash hand basin in the kitchen was broken and
causing foul water to accumulate on the kitchen floor.
The floors were allegedly poorly
maintained, with dirt, grease and food debris found by inspectors,
while there was flaking paint and plaster on the kitchen walls.
An ice machine used by the
restaurant was said to be affected by mould and dirt, and there was
an alleged failure to protect food against contamination.
The charges also claim that food
kept in the dry store was not in pest proof containers.
Health inspectors further claimed
there were no adequate procedures in place to catch pests, and staff
were not given proper training in food hygiene matters.
A spokesman for Suruchi said
neither Indi Foods Ltd nor Rodrigues now had anything to do with the
Scottish capital's two Suruchi restaurants. He added that inspections
carried out since the new owners took over have raised no concerns.
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