A RESTAURANT owner has been slapped with a heft fine after 29 of his diners were rushed to hospital with food poisoning.
Horrified customers raised the alarm after suddenly falling ill with blood in their stools, vomiting, fainting, and a fever after eating at the premium venue in Coventry.
Disaster struck in June last year, when nearly 30 diners reported developing gastrointestinal symptoms after eating at Palm by H20 on Spon Street.
Tests found that 17 of 18 collected stool samples contained the same strain of Salmonella, previously unreported in the UK.
Food inspectors were subsequently called in to investigate and discovered poor hygiene practise at restaurant.
Coventry City Council launched a major investigation with the UK Health Security Agency into the restaurant’s food safety practises.
When inspectors visited the premises, they discovered staff lacked awareness of the risks associated with storing and handling raw meat, allowing food to become contaminated.
Davina Blackburn, Strategic Lead for Regulation and Communities, said: “It is vital that people running food businesses in Coventry are running clean and safe establishments all of the time to ensure the safety of the food they sell to customers.
“We take a staged approach to enforcement, and prosecution is a matter of last resort.
“Wherever possible, officers will always try to work with businesses, offering advice and guidance, but will take the necessary actions if they feel there is a risk to health.”
The owner of the restaurant, Mohammed Naveed, agreed to voluntarily close Palm by H20 until food safety standards were improved.
During this time, inspectors downgraded the restaurants hygiene rating from the top score of 5 to just 1.
Mr Naveed applied for a rescoring, and with the improved conditions maintained, Palm by H20 was awarded a five-star rating in August 2024.
Officers returned to the restaurant earlier this year and confirmed that high standards had been upheld, retaining the top rating.
However, several of the diners who suffered food poisoning were still dealing with ongoing physical and mental health effects from their diagnoses.
Mr Naveed pleaded guilty to multiple food safety offences at Coventry Magistrates’ Court in September.
He appeared for sentencing at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on December 9.
The company was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,186, along with a £2,000 victim surcharge.
Whereas Mr Naveed was fined £6,500 and was also ordered to pay £10,186 in costs and a £2,000 victim surcharge.
A spokesman for Coventry City Council said: “Food safety officers inspect food businesses in the city and issue food hygiene ratings to ensure consumers can make informed decisions on where to eat and purchase food, and people can check out their favourite businesses by going online at https://ratings.food.gov.uk/.”
The council encourages all residents to report unsatisfactory food hygiene conditions found in food businesses in Coventry to ehcommercial@coventry.gov.uk or by calling 08085 834333.
