A pub landlord has been fined more than £2,000 after admitting 21 food safety breaches. Vasile Barbu, who runs the Old Pandy Inn in Monmouthshire, has apologised after an inspector found "foul-smelling" raw chicken and "rancid" raw pork on-site.
Barbu was taken to Cwmbran Magistrates' Court by Monmouthshire Council and ordered to pay £2,408.40 over offences involving the pub's "dirty and dishevelled" kitchen. The 48-year-old told WalesOnline he was not at the pub in Pandy when the inspection happened because he was driving goods to Ukraine to support the war-torn country. He said the business was closed at the time and no one got sick from eating its food but he has replaced the chef and insisted the kitchen is now "in a good position".
Last March a food hygiene inspector visited the Hereford Road pub — which has an average TripAdvisor rating of four stars after 286 reviews — and found the premises were "not kept clean". A dirty wash hand basin was not securely fixed to the wall, congealed grease had gathered under the extractor fan on the external kitchen wall, there had been spillages of "dirty cooking oil" in the rear yard, and there were dirty floors.
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The inspector found equipment had not been "effectively cleaned" to avoid contamination, pointing to a "filthy" cooking range and dirty knife, microwave, convection ovens, chest freezer and under-counter ridge. They also said there was a "complete lack of documentation" as well as stock rotation problems. Their report raised concerns of "significant" cross-contamination risks, poor standards of cleanliness and a "general disregard of food safety". Food found on-site included:
- Two 400g packs of beef lasagne with use-by dates of March 23 (expired six days earlier).
- Two cling-wrapped "foul-smelling" rump steaks
- One 450g pack of beef lasagne with a use-by date of March 25
- Cling-wrapped piece of "discoloured and foul-smelling" raw chicken
- An unrefrigerated and partially uncovered large piece of meat in a dried condition
- Mouldy tomato and garlic salad dressing
- Unopened tin of tomatoes with mould growth "evident to the surface"
- Sweet and smoky BBQ rack of pork ribs with a use-by date of March 14
- Tub of "foul-smelling" diced cooked pork
- Pack of Morrisons Italian mascarpone with a use-by date of March 18
- Tub of homemade "chix pie" filling in "rancid and foul-smelling" condition
- Pack of Florette baby spinach with a use-by date of March 10
- Cling-wrapped piece of "rancid and foul-smelling" raw pork
- Florette rocket salad with a use-by date of March 24
- Tub of "foul-smelling and discoloured" salmon trimmings
- Two packs of Tesco ribeye steak with a use-by date of March 26
- Cling-wrapped "foul-smelling" pack of bacon
- Unlabelled steak in "foul-smelling and discoloured condition with additional evidence of physical contamination".
Mr Barbu, who has run the pub for six years, said: "When we had the inspection I was taking a full van of goods to the border with Ukraine. Our community donated things like clothes and food, then I delivered them. I also have in my flat a family of Ukrainians. It was my staff in charge at the time. My chef was sick with Covid and no one had been into the kitchen to check all those things. Only two members of staff were able to come to work and we weren't open at that time. We have never had any complaint with sickness. We are very careful with that."
The Old Pandy Inn has a food hygiene rating of two stars — meaning 'improvement necessary' — after last July's follow-up inspection. "We are waiting any time for them to come in and change that," said Mr Barbu. "We have changed our chef and we are in a good position at the moment."
The landlord added he is "really sorry" for the offences but he thinks customers will understand the circumstances and the business "will be OK". He was ordered to pay a £733 fine, prosecution costs of £1,602.40 and a victim services surcharge of £73. You can read more of the latest court stories here.
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