A Southall based sandwich and snack manufacturer has been ordered to pay more than £30,000 after a court found it guilty of a string of food hygiene offences.

M & M Food and Snacks Limited of Featherstone Industrial Estate, Southall, was found guilty of 12 food hygiene offences and four failures to comply with hygiene improvement notices at Uxbridge Magistrates Court on Friday 10 August 2012.

The company was fined £21,000 and ordered to pay the council’s costs of £9,515.35. The company was also prohibited from participating in the management of any food business until a further court order.

M & M operated a small factory which produced cheap sandwiches and snacks sold to shops across the UK. Environmental health officers visited the business in March 2011 after they had received complaints about the food from as far afield as Gateshead and Reigate.

On their visit, officers found the factory to be in a filthy and smelly state with mouse droppings throughout the premises, including on a table in the area where the sandwiches were packed. No-one was supervising the food production and the food safety records that should have been kept were either non-existent or completely inadequate. They were temporarily closed down.

Environmental health officers visited the factory twice over the spring and summer to see if improvements had been made. Although the company had made changes in some areas, in others, the situation had actually worsened so Ealing Council decided to prosecute them.

Councillor Ranjit Dheer, cabinet member for Community Services and Safety, said: "This company’s attitude to public health and food safety is appalling and it’s right that they should be handed this large fine."

"This should serve as a warning to anyone who thinks they can get away with running a sub-standard food business in Ealing."