'Dead rodent' found on kitchen floor by Council officers

Coco Noodle Bar, an Oriental takeaway restaurant on The Mall, was forced into an emergency closure recently after an unannounced inspection revealed "serious risks of food contamination," including what appears to be the rotting carcass of a dead rat found on the restaurant's premises.

Ealing Council food safety officers closed Coco Noodle along with three other stores in the borough after deeming that kitchen conditions presented "an imminent risk of injury to health", according to the Council's website.

As well as the rodent remains, officials found dirt and rat droppings on surfaces at the Asian fusion bar.

After a week, Coco Noodle Bar was allowed to re-open, once the Council had deemed that extensive cleaning and pest control measures had eliminated the health risks on the site.

This represents the third time in 8 years that Coco Noodle has been in hot water for unhygienic conditions. In 2006 a similar rat infestation also led Ealing Council to force an immediate closure of the restaurant, with the owner successfully prosecuted. Once again in 2009, another Council inspection revealed a risk of food contamination and once again the owner was found guilty of hygiene offences at Ealing Magistrates' Court. Across the two incidents, Andrew Ly, proprietor of Coco Noodle Bar, was forced to pay over £30'000 in fines and legal fees.

Commenting on this month's series of temporary closures, including Coco Noodle Bar, Councillor Julian Bell, leader of Ealing Council, said: "These are some revolting examples of what can happen when businesses do not maintain proper standards of cleanliness which is ultimately their own responsibility. We take food safety very seriously and actively uncover and immediately shut down restaurants and food traders right across the borough who put the public in danger.”

August 15, 2014