By Islam El-Sakka
A husband and wife who ran a bakery in Gosport, Hampshire, have been barred from the food trade after pleading guilty to multiple hygiene offences.
Court details and violations
Nicholas and Rosslyn Green, owners of Phoenix Bakery, admitted 11 counts of failing to comply with food hygiene laws between January and August 2025. Judge Daniel Sawyer sentenced them at Portsmouth Crown Court, describing photographs taken by Environmental Health officers as "stomach-turning".
Inspection findings
Inspectors found dead ants in fondant, freezers thick with dirt, dead flies in a microwave, bacon sitting in a yellow substance staff claimed was orange juice, and cooked and uncooked meats stored together. Multiple items were frozen into a single block, a box of margarine bore finger marks, and rotting lettuce was discovered in a fridge. Mr Green told officers the lettuce was fine to use "if you take off the outer layers".
Previous hygiene rating and new business
Phoenix Bakery received a zero food hygiene score in July 2026 and was shut down. Critical failures were reported in hygienic food handling, facility cleanliness, and food safety management. A new business, Alby And Alfie Café And Bakery, now operates from the same premises with Mr Green listed as sole director; it currently holds a hygiene rating of two.
Sentencing
Judge Sawyer said hygiene levels at the bakery were "somewhere between woeful and non-existent" and expressed surprise that no customers had fallen ill. He told Mr Green he appeared to believe the prosecution was a vendetta and had no intention of changing his ways. Mr Green was ordered to complete 50 hours of community service and pay £5,000 in costs. Mrs Green, described as having a supervisory role, received a conditional discharge and was ordered to pay £2,108 in costs. Both were made subject to a Hygiene Prohibition Order, preventing them from owning or operating a food business unless a further court order is granted.
