18-07-2025
Hefty fine for Nottinghamshire takeaway owner after rat droppings and smoking paraphernalia found on work surfaces
The former owner of a pizza takeaway has been banned from running food businesses after hygiene inspectors uncovered several failings. Inspectors visited Ali Parsi's Ashfield takeaway unannounced and found major problems with the conditions of the kitchen and food preparation areas.
On a visit to the Huthwaite Road business in May 2023, the inspectors found rats and mice in the back of the premises where pizzas were prepared, alongside poor food hygiene conditions in the kitchen.
Parsi, 54, of Southside, Arnold, voluntarily closed the business after the inspection, and it has since been reopened under new management. He pleaded guilty to three breaches of Food Safety and Hygiene Regulations when he appeared in Mansfield Magistrates' Court at the end of June.
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The breaches he admitted to include: failing to ensure adequate procedures to control pests, failing to protect food from contamination from rodent droppings on work surfaces on food storage shelves and from smoking paraphernalia, failing to keep the food premises clean and maintained in good repair and condition.
He was then fined £6,439.73 and banned from managing or running any food businesses. The new management of Venezia has since scored a hygiene rating of three after an inspection by Ashfield District Council.
