Bowring Butchers: 'One of the biggest food hygiene investigations ever undertaken by Mansfield District Council'

Robert Bowring, aged 58, of Sookholme Road, Mansfield, was also fined £25,000 and ordered to pay £40,000 in prosecution costs after admitting eight breaches, when he appeared before Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday, February 22.

Speaking after the sentencing, Coun Marion Bradshaw, council portfolio holder for safer communities, housing and wellbeing, said it was one of the biggest investigations ever undertaken by the authority’s Environmental Health officers.

She said: “We are very pleased with the outcome in this successful prosecution, which is one of the biggest environmental health investigations the council has ever had.

“It involved months of painstaking work by our environmental health officers, working closely with Public Health England and neighbouring local authorities.

“Our response shows how far we will go to protect the public from unsafe practices by food outlets who have the ultimate duty of care towards their customers.”

An inspection of the premises revealed:

Cross contamination was not adequately controlled between raw and ready-to-eat food preparation areas; The stairs handrail between the two areas was used by both staff preparing raw meat and staff preparing ready-to-eat food, presenting an obvious risk of cross contamination. Once produced, the potted beef was given a seven-day shelf life, but no records to support this shelf life have ever been produced. Officers found dirt in the equipment used in the production of the potted beef.

Officers also found there was no record of when various ready-to-eat products had been produced and many were not labelled with a use-by date.

The officers were told that the production dates were recorded in a black book kept behind the counter but the court heard this book was never produced during the investigation.

Speaking to your Chad earlier today, George Bowring, who now runs the butchers’ chain, said: “It was three years ago – I’m the new owner and I’ve been working really hard to build the business back up.

“It’s just so down-heartening because my dad stepped back from the business two years ago.”

All remaining stores, in Mansfield, Mansfield Woodhouse, Shirebrook, Bolsover and Chesterfield now have either four or five-out-of-five food hygiene ratings.

A message from Jon Ball, your Chad Editor: Support your Chad by becoming a digital subscriber. You will see 70 per cent fewer ads on stories, meaning faster load times and an overall enhanced user experience. Click here to subscribe.