The Site Cafe fined $15k for string of food safety breaches

A Brisbane cafe has been fined $15,000 for breaching various food safety regulations after a health inspector discovered the popular eatery was littered with rat faeces.

The Site Cafe in Banyo, Brisbane, has been fined for breaching food safety codes after rat faeces were found in the cafe. Picture: Facebook

A Brisbane cafe has been fined $15,000 for breaching various food safety regulations after a health inspector discovered the popular eatery was littered with rat faeces.

Owner of the Site Cafe on Vincent St in Banyo, Santoshi Rana, 41, pleaded guilty to six counts of failing to comply with food safety codes on Friday.

Ms Rana and her husband Raul took over the cafe in April 2017, after owning various Donut King stores and a Michel’s Patisserie which they sold in 2016.

Despite their hospitality history, the court hear that Ms Rana had no experience in running a restaurant prior to taking ownership of the The Site Cafe.

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A council environmental health officer visited the premises on November 9, 2021 and uncovered a series of serious health and safety breaches, including rodent droppings on “various surfaces,” improper food storage, general uncleanliness and maintenance issues.

Santoshi Rana and husband Raul were fined $15,000 for breaching food safety requirements at their Banyo cafe, The Site cafe. Picture: Facebook

The cafe located next to the Banyo train station, also had no fly screens and lacked pest and insect control, the court heard.

Prosecutor acting on behalf of Brisbane City Council Chelsie Hirth submitted that the level of uncleanliness indicated a “severe lack of regular cleaning”.

Ms Hirth said Ms Rana had been given warnings on three separate occasions in 2017, 18 and 19, demonstrating that the dirtiness of the cafe was “not an isolated incident.”

“The defendant was put on notice about the requisite standard,” Ms Hirth said.

Defence solicitor Jonathan Nyst argued the history of inspections held no relevance to the current charges against Ms Rana, who had no criminal history prior to her court appearance on Friday.

He said the cafe had struggled through the pandemic, failing to turn a profit in 2019-20, and Ms Rana had relied solely on her kitchen staff to maintain the health and cleanliness of the cafe.

“She admits she shouldn’t have,” he said.

Following the November 2021 inspection, the cafe was closed for two days.

The court heard Ms Rana had since rectified many of the breaches by inserting fly screens, buying proper food storage and implementing a regular cleaning schedule.

The kitchen staff no longer work at the cafe.

Magistrate Peter Saggers considered the severity of the breaches when handing down his sentence.

“While there were no actual live rodents observed by council, the presence of rodent faeces in various locations demonstrates that there was a rodent issue,” he said.

“The failure to ensure food was stored in a way that protected from the likelihood of contamination demonstrates a lack of care or concern for food safety practices.”

Ms Rana was convicted and fined $15,000, payable to Brisbane City Council. She must also pay more the $600 in legal fees to the council.