Court: Souvlaki GR Frankston slapped with 42 charges over ‘petri-dish’ conditions
Mouldy cheese, soggy brown lettuce and expired eggs and meat were found at a Frankston “petri dish masquerading as a souvlaki shop” where staff could not wash their hands properly.
South East
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A Frankston take away joint has been described as a “petri dish masquerading as a souvlaki shop” after being slapped with 42 breaches of the Food Act.
Souvlaki GR Frankston and its sole director Despina Karagiozis fronted Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Thursday following two failed food safety inspections by Frankston Council.
They pleaded guilty to 13 charges and the remaining 29 were dropped.
Ms Karagiozis had taken on the “global” entity of Souvlaki GR after her son — Lamborghini driving crypto king Sam Karagiozis who was charged with major drug offences and money laundering in 2019 and 2021 respectively — resigned his role with the company.
The court heard council inspectors found frozen chips stored in a crate beneath a wash basin and “brown and soggy” lettuce, prepared in advance and stored in a bucket when they first visited the Wells Street takeaway on October 21, 2022.
Mouldy vegan cheese, out of date buttermilk and dozens of eggs that were more than two months past their use by date were discovered in a fridge along with an open packet of “Leekwurst” style sausages, nine weeks past its August 24 expiry.
Frankston council prosecutor Bruce Gardiner said staff were seen reheating cooked spit meat which they advised was cooked the night before.
“They were then mixing this potentially hazardous reheated cooked meat with freshly cooked meat from the spit,” Mr Gardiner said.
“This cooked meat was only being kept warm at 60C in the bain-marie for as many hours as it takes to sell with no management of time.”
The Food Standards Code requires previously cooked food to be reheated rapidly above 60C.
Food handling gloves were being used to plug a water leak from the spit meat bain-marie.
Mr Gardiner said raw chicken skewers and raw pork, both with no use by date were also found along with five tubs of dip more than a month past their use by date of September 19 and another three that were eleven days past their October 10 expiry.
The wash basin in the staff toilet was not working and the only sink on the premises where hands could be washed had no hot water.
The shop floor was filthy, rubbish bins were overflowing and staff were not using food grade sanitiser in food preparation areas.
Mr Gardiner said the charges were very serious with each attracting a maximum fine of $200,000 for the corporation and $40,000 for Ms Karagiozis.
The corporation was notified of the breaches on the same day as the inspection and told inspectors would return in a week’s time.
The court heard that when inspectors visited the shop a second time on October 27 the wash basins were still not working and meat cooked the previous day was still being served.
Mr Gardiner acknowledged that the business had made some attempts to fix the breaches, but argued that if the wash basins were unable to be fixed the shop should have closed immediately.
The court was told that Souvlaki GR Frankston was voluntarily closed after the second visit by council inspectors and was yet to reopen.
The manager and supervisor were both sacked and new staff were currently being trained in preparation of reopening in two weeks.
There no plans to rebrand the business.
Magistrate Gerard Bryant said the business had failed to meet food handling and hygiene standards expected in Australia.
“This was a petri dish masquerading as a souvlaki shop,” he said.
He said he would be surprised if customers had not suffered “gastrointestinal illness” after consuming food from the take away.
The court heard Karagiozis, 59, had no prior convictions and was of good character.
Her lawyer told the court there were eight Souvlaki GR shops in Victoria.
However, Mr Gardiner argued the corporation had shops in 18 locations from Pakenham to suburbs in Melbourne’s north and west.
“It’s the Greek McDonalds,” he said.
“They are popping up all over the place.”
Souvlaki GR Frankston was convicted, placed on a 12 month bond and ordered to pay $40,000 to the court fund.
Karagiozis was ordered to pay $15,000 into the same fund.
Mr Bryant said if it were not for her early plea, references and lack of prior convictions she would have been fined $20,000.
