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Allergy reminder to county food outlets

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Guilty: Mohammed Zaman

Guilty: Mohammed Zaman

FOOD BUSINESSES in the county are being reminded of the need to take food allergies seriously and to provide accurate allergen information about the ingredients in the meals they serve to customers.

The warning comes from Pembrokeshire County Council following a high-profile court case in England earlier this week.

Mohammed Zaman was jailed for six years for manslaughter after customer Paul Wilson suffered a severe anaphylactic shock after eating a takeaway containing nuts from Zaman’s restaurant in North Yorkshire.

Mr Wilson had a peanut allergy and while ‘no nuts’ was written on the lid of his takeaway container, the meal did contain nuts and subsequently caused his death.

The Council’s Cabinet Member for Environmental and Regulatory Services, Huw George, emphasised the legal responsibility on all food businesses to provide correct allergen information.

“This case shows how very important it is for all businesses to train their staff, to check that they understand the training and that everyone working there puts it into practice consistently” said Councillor George.

“Anyone who might buy different ingredients to those normally used, or who might make changes to standard recipes, must have adequate food allergy awareness training to ensure that they understand the risks and how they must be controlled.

“Ingredients should not be decanted into unlabelled containers, and all staff need to know which ingredients and dishes contain allergens or have a reliable way of finding out.

“‘Groundnuts’ are peanuts, and should be labelled as such.”

Councillor George continued: “People die from food allergies so it’s crucial that food businesses talk to their customers about their requirements.

“Even if food is sold loose, or by catering businesses, allergen information must be provided in writing, although this can be done using a notice which tells customers that the information is available if they ask.

“If a business takes orders by phone, they are required to ask their customers whether they have any food allergies, and provide written information about the ingredients used.

“Effective communication is critical and care should be taken if there might be any difficulties in this respect, for example due to different languages being spoken.”

Pembrokeshire County Council’s Food Safety team have been providing advice to food businesses about the law since 2014. It remains a key focus during food premises inspections and when advising new businesses startingup.

Relevant information and advice is freely available to all businesses via the Council’s website at: www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/foodlawadvice.

The website also includes further details on the ‘business advice service’, available to new and existing businesses, to support compliance with a range of food safety and standards requirements.

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Crime

Waste dumped at recycling centre leads police to drug factory near Cardigan

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Man jailed after drug discovery sparked by vigilant staff

A TIP-OFF from staff at an Aberystwyth recycling centre has led to the discovery of a large cannabis factory in a derelict property near Cardigan — and landed a 20-year-old man behind bars.

Manuel Nerguti was sentenced to six months in prison at Swansea Crown Court on Friday (July 11) after pleading guilty to producing a class B drug.

The court heard that on May 1 this year, workers at the Aberystwyth recycling centre reported a suspicious delivery: four to five bags of cannabis stalks, apparently dumped by men in a hired Ford Transit van.

Police acted quickly and intercepted the van later that afternoon on the road between Aberystwyth and Cardigan. Nerguti and two other men were arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of cannabis, but were released without charge at the time, as no grow site had been located.

However, a month later, acting on new intelligence, Dyfed-Powys Police executed a warrant at a derelict house in Bridell, near Cardigan. Inside, they discovered a sophisticated cannabis cultivation operation: 260 mature plants spread across five rooms and an attic, with the electricity supply illegally bypassed.

During the raid on June 7, Nerguti attempted to flee but was found hiding behind a washing machine in the garage.

He was charged and later pleaded guilty to producing cannabis.

Detective Constable Sam Garside, who led the investigation, praised the recycling centre staff for their quick thinking.

He said: “This result is thanks to the staff at the recycling centre for recognising that criminal activity was taking place and for alerting police quickly.

“We rely on the public to inform us of anything suspicious going on in their communities and we encourage people to get in touch if they suspect anything. We were able to use our local knowledge and police intelligence to execute a successful warrant and shut down an illegal cannabis factory.

“We are committed to continuing our drug operations across Dyfed-Powys and bringing offenders like Nerguti to justice.”

Police estimate the cannabis seized had a potential street value of up to £242,000.

More information on Operation Scotney — Dyfed-Powys Police’s campaign to tackle cannabis cultivation — including how to spot signs of a drug grow, can be found on their website.

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Pembrokeshire County Council group to review ‘climate emergency’

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A CALL for a group to review Pembrokeshire County Council’s decision to declare a climate emergency some six years ago has been backed by councillors.

In May 2019, the council declare a climate emergency following a notice of motion by Cllr Joshua Beynon calling on the authority to back the global consensus that climate change poses a risk to the well-being of future generations.

He had urged county councillors to back a motion to take “bold, decisive action” to fight “truly, catastrophic” climate change.

He called on the council to commit to becoming a zero-carbon local authority by 2030.

At the July meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, a notice of motion by Cllr Mike Stoddart called for the establishment of a working group to review the decision made by the council to declare a climate change emergency.

Cllr Stoddart’s motion said: “Given the turbulence on the global financial markets; the parlous state of the UK’s public finances; Pembrokeshire County Council’s projected funding gap; and the government’s softening of its policies on the switch to EV vehicles and heat pumps, this council establishes a seven person, politically balanced working group to review the authority’s decision to declare a climate emergency at its meeting on May 9, 2019.

“The working group will be asked to: (a) examine the effect of the emergency declaration on the level of council tax in Pembrokeshire and particularly the extent to which any such increases militate against the authority’s anti-poverty policies.

“(b) The cost of decarbonising the council’s housing stock and the effect this has had on the authority’s ability to finance the building of new housing.

“(c) The extent to which the council’s decarbonisation programme has contributed to a reduction of the risk of runaway global temperature increases, and (d) any other effects that the working group considers may have adversely impacted the wellbeing of the residents of Pembrokeshire.”

Cllr Stoddart’s notice of motion was previously supported at the June meeting of the council’s corporate overview and scrutiny committee, with a recommendation to full council in July meeting, to reinstate the Net Zero Working Group to review the contents of the notice of motion and, subject to the outcome of this review, review the future delivery of the Net Zero Action Plan.

Cllr Stoddart’s call was backed by Cllr Steve Alderman, and Cllr Rhys Jordan, who said: “I fully support this, it couldn’t come sooner; around England and Wales councils are looking at this, there’s been a huge push for a ‘net zero’ agenda at any cost, I don’t think we’re in a position to drive that.”

Cllr Aaron Carey said: “We’ve set ourselves some lofty goals, but we haven’t got the money to back it up.”

Members overwhelmingly agreed to back the June committee recommendations.

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Urgent appeal to save 1,000 hens in Pembrokeshire and beyond

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British Hen Welfare Trust seeks homes before Friday deadline

AN URGENT appeal has been launched to find homes for more than 1,000 hens due to be rehomed next weekend – including from a rescue centre in Boncath, Pembrokeshire.

The British Hen Welfare Trust (BHWT) is coordinating the rehoming effort on Saturday (July 26), aiming to rescue ex-caged hens from slaughter and instead place them into loving homes. The appeal also covers rehoming centres in Locking, near Bristol, and Kineton in Warwickshire.

The charity says the hens have come to the end of their commercial egg-laying lives, but remain healthy and can thrive as pets. However, they must be rehomed by Friday (July 25) to avoid being needlessly killed.

“This is a time-sensitive and visual story that resonates locally,” said Andy Hill, Marketing & Communications Officer for the BHWT. “These hens have worked hard their whole lives and deserve a second chance.”

The organisation recently marked the rehoming of its one millionth hen – which was adopted by King Charles III – and the upcoming effort is part of its continued mission to improve hen welfare across the UK.

Local spokespeople are available for interview, and high-resolution images are available for media use.

For more information or to register interest in adopting hens, visit: www.bhwt.org.uk

Image for illustration purposes only

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