MORE than 850 food establishments in Bolton have been warned about hygiene problems in the past year.

New figures from the Food Standards Agency show that almost a third of venues that serve food across the borough had some form of enforcement action taken against them during 2016/17.

A total of 840 venues were subject to written warnings from Bolton Council, while a further 15 were issued with a formal improvement notice, and 11 voluntarily closed.

The council also prosecuted one Asian wedding venue, Bolton Excellency, after it was found to be infested with mice.

The venue, its owner Dr Mohanned Jaberansari and company director Taymure Khan, were fined a total of almost £20,000 at Bolton Magistrates Court last October.

A ‘live infestation’ of mice was found in the restaurant after an inspection in March, 2015, which council officers deemed an ‘imminent risk to public health’.

The Bolton News:

Evidence of a mice infestation at The Excellency Centre, Carlton Street, Bolton

PICTURES: Wedding venue fined almost £20,000 over mice infestation

One establishment in Bolton also surrendered a small quantity of expired food in April this year.

The pre-packed sliced cooked meats had been stored above eight degrees for an extended period at Pak Foods, in Mayor Street, and one packet was past its use-by date.

A council spokesman said: “The council’s food safety team is robust and vigilant in carrying out inspections of food premises. Inspection frequency is based on risk and depends on hygiene standards within the business, the effectiveness of management and the history of compliance.

"Overall, 89 per cent of food businesses in Bolton are classed as broadly compliant with standards of food safety.

"Of those businesses included in the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, 85 per cent have a hygiene rating of three – generally satisfactory or above.

"Written reports are provided following every inspection. Businesses that score zero are issued with a written warning, identifying any contraventions of food law and given a timescale to rectify any issues. Some are issued with Hygiene Improvement Notices and some may be subject to closure until standards have improved.

"Officers provide businesses with advice and use an educatory approach wherever possible.

"However, where there are serious risks to health or repeated contraventions of food hygiene law, formal enforcement powers are used.

"This may include prosecution of the business operator with courts imposing substantial fines and in some cases, the operator being banned from running a food business in future.”

The new figures represent a slight reduction in the percentage of outlets given warnings by the council compared to last year, down from 33.7 per cent to 31.6 per cent.