'˜Filthy' kebab shop owner banned from running food outlets

The local authority said Muharrem Kartal, 52, was handed an eight months suspended prison sentence at Lewes Crown Court on May 21 and ordered to carry out 180 hours unpaid work after pleading guilty to 43 offences of breaching food safety laws.

Brighton and Hove City Council said it had discovered dead rats Kartal’s Golden Fried Chicken kebab house (GFC) on Church Road, Hove, which he had been running since 2002.

Food safety officers said they also discovered servery covered in thick black deposits of grease, chips, cardboard and food, fat dripping from cooking equipment, ‘filthy boards’ used for chopping raw chicken also being used for cutting salads, and no hot running water for staff to wash their hands.

The council said its officers won praise from Judge Waddicor for catching Kartal, saying it must have been ‘very unpleasant to have to attend, take the photographs and see and smell these premises’.

Councillor Gill Mitchell, chair of the council’s environment, transport and sustainability committee, said: “Like Judge Widdicor, I want to praise all our staff involved in this case. They worked tirelessly to bring this man to court and seal a conviction.

“Our residents and tourists now know there is one less person out there who will knowingly selling food from a shop that is filthy, rat infested and extremely dangerous to health.

“It also send a clear message to anyone else who’s prepared to sell our residents and tourists potentially harmful food – we’re watching you, we’ll catch you and we’ll prosecute you.”

Brighton and Hove City Council said Kartal had previously been convicted of identical offences in 2012, and pleaded guilty to the new offences in May this year.

The council said the lease on GFC has been repossessed.