A takeaway in Lancaster has been ordered to pay a fine of £15,000 ($19,600) after a customer discovered a three centimetre long metal screw inside an onion bhaji.
Magistrates slapped Nice & Spicy curry house with the penalty after successfully charging the restaurant with selling food unfit for human consumption.
This charge was just one of seven breaches of food safety and hygiene charges discovered by health service representatives after an inspection that followed a complaint.
The environmental health officers from Lancaster City Council went along to Nice & Spicy in January 2019, where they discovered a number of things weren't right.
The court heard that the takeaway was undergoing building work at the time of the incident and that led to food being kept in places that weren't adequate to protect it from becoming contaminated.
Ingredients were found stored in containers without lids in a dry store area that was dirty and dusty and left unfinished.
As well as that, they discovered a number of other food hygiene violations.
The company itself - which despite operating the takeaway in Lancaster is a limited liability partnership registered in Greater Manchester - didn't appear in court but magistrates agreed to hear the case in its absence.
Mark Davies, director of communities and the environment at Lancaster City Council, said: "All food businesses have a fundamental duty to their customers to operate their businesses in a responsible way to ensure that the food they provide is prepared in hygienic conditions and is fit for human consumption.
"Whilst the vast majority of our food businesses achieve a food hygiene rating of at least 3, and that many of our food businesses have a rating of 4 or 5, where this is not the case and businesses are not able to demonstrate that they are taking steps to improve their practices, the city council will not hesitate to prosecute.
"I urge anyone thinking of eating out or buying a takeaway to check out the food hygiene rating of the business."
It's not the first time this firm has fallen foul of the authorities. In November 2018 an unannounced investigation revealed similar concerns regarding food storage.
On top of their £15,000 fine, they've been ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £170 ($220) and £1,553.48 ($2,034.66) in costs.
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