An Indian restaurant in a Perth suburb has been fined over $14,000 after pet food was found in the restaurant during an inspection by health officials.
Café Marica owner Kopikaran Krishnasamy has been ordered to pay $2,000 in fine and costs of $382.30 and his company Kalaiamutham Pty Ltd has been penalised $10,000 plus costs of $1,000.
According to the WA Health Department, the breach at the Indian restaurant in Canning Vale was discovered in February when inspectors found pet food stored in clear plastic bags marked as ‘Pet Meat - Not For Human Consumption'.
The restaurant is defending the breach as a mistake due to lack of knowledge of the English language.
“We usually buy our lamb from reputable buyers such as Woolworths or Coles,” a spokesperson for the restaurant told Armadale Community News.
“A customer came in and recommended another producer to our chef, who doesn’t speak English very well.”
He said the meat was packed in plastic bags marked as ‘pet food’ but the chef could not understand it.
reported that when the inspectors arrived at the restaurants, a chef was processing the meat.
However, the health authorities said the breach pertained to the presence of pet meat in the kitchen and that there’s no suggestion it was served to any customers.
It’s a violation of the Food Safety laws to handle pet meat other than that in a closed package in the premises where food is sold.
The conviction was handed down on 21st August.
SBS Punjabi contacted Mr Krishnasamy for a comment. Responding to reports, he wrote on social media that the restaurant has stopped purchasing meat from the supplied.
“We believe our mistake was trusting our supplier blindly and going ahead with the purchase back in February 2018 when there was an inspection. Since then we have immediately discontinued purchases from the supplier and have stepped up our hygiene practices.
“We are truly grateful that no one has consumed the meat and that the inspection officers have helped us save our customers from an unpleasant experience.”
