A business has been ordered to pay more than £27,000 after breaching food hygiene and health and safety standards at a Dudley borough restaurant.

Dudley Council brought a case against K2JY Limited at Black Country Magistrates’ Court in Dudley on Wednesday May 3.

K2JY Limited owns The Koyla Kitchen on Thorns Road, which was visited by environmental health officers in January 2022.

Officers discovered numerous hygiene failings, including a failure to implement procedures to ensure food safety and protect it from contamination.

They found food, which was available to purchase in the restaurant, was beyond its use by date, as well as poor standards of cleanliness.

There was also a failure to protect the health, safety, and welfare of employees. It was found that staff were lighting a gas tandoor oven in an unsafe manner due to a fault with the appliance’s ignition system.

Owner Inderjit Kaur Pandher pleaded guilty on behalf of K2JY Limited to four food hygiene breaches and one health and safety breach. Separate charges against Ms Pandher were dropped.

The court acknowledged that steps were taken to remedy the breaches and the owner had co-operated with the investigation.

The business was ordered to pay £27,210.82 in total including a fine of £20,534, a victim surcharge of £190.00 and full costs of £1,686.82.

This is payable within 28 days, backed with a collection order. Councillor Ian Bevan, cabinet member-elect for public health, said:

“Our environmental health officers take hygiene breaches very seriously, as failure to comply can put the wellbeing of consumers at risk.

“It goes without saying that as paying customers we all have the right to expect that the food we eat is safe. When that’s not the case we will take action to protect consumers.

“This is another successful case as we strive to uphold hygiene standards across the borough, and I hope it serves as an example to other food premises.”

Koyla Kitchen has since been re-visited by inspectors and was awarded the highest rating of ‘very good’ in February 2023 after employing a new team.