​Fishmonger Fined £13,000 After Viral Video Exposes Hygiene Breaches

A fishmonger in East London has been fined a total of £13,000 following the release of a viral video showing an employee smashing frozen fish onto the pavement. The footage, recorded behind Moon Fish at Barking Market, sparked public outrage and led to an immediate investigation by the Barking and Dagenham Council's Food Safety Team.

The video, which circulated widely on social media platforms including YouTube, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter), depicted an employee repeatedly hurling blocks of frozen fish onto the dirty pavement in an attempt to break them up. A voice in the background can be heard commenting, "Look at that. Moon Fish - that is what he does with your meat. Breaks it up on the floor. That's going in your bellies, ladies and gentlemen."

In response to the numerous complaints received, the council's Food Safety Team conducted an urgent inspection of Moon Fish located on East Street, Barking. Their findings revealed several significant food hygiene contraventions:

• Absence of a food safety management system.
• Poor cleanliness and maintenance of the premises, including dirty floors, freezers, and unsanitary toilets.
• Presence of holes and openings throughout the premises, posing a risk of contamination.
• Leaking hoses and unfinished wall partitions, making them difficult to clean.
• Inadequate supervision and training of food handlers, with no training records available.
• Improper storage of raw food, such as fish, next to open cooked or ready-to-eat foods, increasing the risk of contamination.

Due to these severe breaches, the business was prosecuted and taken to Barkingside Magistrates Court. On Tuesday, 16 July, company director Mr Nadeem Hashmat pleaded guilty to all offences on behalf of the company and in his capacity as a director.

The court imposed the following penalties:

• Moon Fish: £10,500 fine, £2,000 Victim Surcharge, and £500 costs to Barking and Dagenham Council, totalling £13,000.
• Nadeem Hashmat: £1,536 fine, £614 Victim Surcharge, and £257.19 costs to Barking and Dagenham Council, totalling £2,407.19.

Councillor Syed Ghani, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety, expressed his dismay at the incident, stating, "Why anyone would think that this behaviour was okay is beyond me – the video was shocking. I'm glad our Food Safety Team reacted quickly and continued with the prosecution; it's a great result. I hope the owners of this business have learned a valuable lesson regarding food safety and won't allow anything like this to happen again."

Social media users also voiced their disgust, with one commenting, "Why not just run it under a tap and soak it? Vile. It makes you not want to buy anything." Another remarked, "Did he think no one was going to see him dashing fish on the curb?"

In response to the backlash, Moon Fish claimed that the worker involved was a trainee on his first day and had been removed from the shop. Despite this, the shop's food hygiene rating stands at one out of five, indicating a need for major improvement in its food safety management practices.