The horror lurking in takeaway chocolate cake...

Feb 9 2008 by Katie Bodinger, South Wales Echo

The horror lurking in takeaway chocolate cake...

TWO former takeaway owners have been fined for serving up faeces in a piece of chocolate cake.

Saeed Ramine Hasmi and Jan Agha Yadgari landed hefty fines for selling food unfit for human consumption.

The pair ran Italiano Pizzeria in City Road, Cardiff, which has since been taken over by new owners.

A Cardiff council spokeswoman said its food safety team was alerted on August 30, 2006.

“The person who bought the cake realised it didn’t taste or smell quite right so they reported it to us,” she said.

“Subsequent examination by the public analyst and national public health service laboratories confirmed the presence of faecal matter.

“There were bits of it all over the top of the cake. We can’t say for definite what kind of faecal matter it is, although it is likely it was human. It would have to go through a DNA test for us to know for sure.”

At Cardiff Magistrates’ Court, both defendants pleaded guilty to selling food unfit for human consumption on the day their trial was scheduled to start.

Hasmi, of Mackintosh Place, Roath, Cardiff, and Yadgari, 23, of Howard Gardens, Adamsdown, Cardiff, were each fined £1,500 and ordered to pay £200 costs.

Speaking yesterday at his home, Hasmi insisted the incident was not their fault, adding he was no longer working in the food industry.

“We are sorry for the people who ate it,” he said.

Current owner of Italiano Pizzeria, Shams Mehrabi, who took over in March last year, condemned the actions of the two men.

Pointing to his hygiene certificates on the wall, he said he was now making sure the takeaway ran to the highest standards.

“This is a completely different business now,” he said. “We have a lot of happy customers.”

katie.bodinger@mediawales.co.uk