Brewery giant Greene King, owner of The Eagle pub on Bene’t Street, was fined yesterday in a pre-trial hearing called to investigate claims of lapses in food hygiene standards in the pub’s kitchens.

Greene King faced 15 separate charges relating to The Eagle’s unsatisfactory hygiene arrangements. The charges were incurred following two separate routine inspections by Cambridge Council in May 2008.

Charges revolve around a lack of “due diligence” provided by the company and include reports of  failure to provide soap for cleaning hands, failure to fit the windows with insect-proof screens, and failure to store raw meat in appropriate conditions to stop its harmful deterioration.

Other charges also allege that cooked sausages and lasagnes were left uncovered at room temperature at least two hours after close of serving, and that Greene King failed to ensure all equipment coming into contact with food was effectively cleaned or disinfected.

In the course of the May 2008 inspections, accusations of food poisoning caused by the pub’s food were investigated, with samples being taken to Addenbrooke’s hospital for salmonella and E. Coli testing. The results of all tests were negative.

In court, the prosecution highlighted that “public health was put at risk in a well known public house in a city centre”. They paid particular attention to the double occurrence of hygiene lapses, on May 15th and 27th of last year, and pointed out that this is not the first prosecution that Greene King has faced. They also described the faults found within the pub’s kitchens as “serious”, with descriptions of “rancid” rotting meat.

The defendants in the case expressed their regret and emphasized that this is an “isolated” case which falls below their “ordinarily high standards”. They pointed out that an unannounced inspection in March 2008 (two months before the unsatisfactory findings) found “general compliance” in the hygiene system, with temperature issues, preparation, and cooking all being examined. Therefore, they claimed, yesterday’s charges related to only a “short period of time” in which the system had broken down.

Greene King pleaded guilty to the charges, and were fined a total of £10,000, including individual fines for rotting meat in the fridge, food left unprotected from contamination, filthy refrigerators and microwaves, and a damaged seal on the fridge. This marked a change from their previous ‘not guilty’ plea, made in an earlier hearing of the case on April 30th 2009. This change in plea was taken into consideration in the verdict.

Greene King has been in operation since 1799, and The Eagle is part of a nation-wide chain of 800 Greene King establishments. The pub has a system in place for training staff on matters of food and hygiene. All staff members receive a certificate of basic food and hygiene training, with staff in the kitchens receiving a Greene King Certificate Two, and all Chefs, the Deputy Manager and Head Manager a Greene King Certificate Three. Greene King were keen to point out that The Eagle’s lapse in standard is a localized failure and does not represent a systematic failure of the company.

The Eagle is the most iconic pub in Cambridge, popular with students and tourists alike. Famous as the location where Watson and Crick announced they had discovered the double helix structure of DNA in 1953, and with the names of British and US air force servicemen scorched onto the ceiling during the Second World War, the pub regularly attracts large tourist groups. The Eagle was named Bargain Food Pub of the Year in 1999 by the Good Pub Guide. Greene King’s IPA brand was recently named shirt sponsor of Cambridge United.