Ready meal chef kept mackerel in his bath inches away from his toilet

Firefighters responding to a kitchen blaze made a rather smelly discovery after a bath-load of fish was found in a businessman’s bathtub.

Stephen Akuoko from Watford, Hertfordshire, ran Tribal Foods for over three years, supplying ready meals to local shops.

Watford Council’s environmental team had been trying to track him down after concerns were raised about the company’s products.

It was only when firefighters were called out to deal with a Wok fire in 2024, that the bath filled with fish was discovered.

Akuoko tried to claim all of the fish -which sat just centimetres away from the 62-year-old’s toilet – was for him and his family. But he eventually pleaded guilty to two food safety offences.

At St Albans Crown Court last Thursday he received a suspended prison sentence and a ban from operating any food business.

Prosecutor Michael Coley said the environmental health team began investigating Tribal Foods after finding ready meals in local shops, including in Bonsu.

The product was judged to have inappropriately long use-by dates and a lack of detail on ingredients.

Mr Coley said the business was difficult to track down and when officers did eventually manage to speak to Akuoko over the phone he became aggressive, accusing them of harassment.

But then the fire happened and, when food safety officers attended, Akuoko claimed all the food in the property was for him and his family, Mr Coley said.

Remedial action was served and the defendant assured officers they would not see Tribal Foods products in Watford again, but weeks later they found his unlabelled products in a local shop.

They checked CCTV footage and found he had made three deliveries to one shop in a matter of weeks.

‘This was an intentional breach and a flagrant disregard for the law,’ Mr Coley said.

Akuoko later pleaded guilty to contravening food safety and hygiene regulations and failing to comply with a remedial action notice.

In mitigation, Aleister Adamson said his client had owned a supermarket for many years until the property’s lease expired.

He then lost an expensive legal fight and became homeless until he was given social housing.

Akuoko then set up Tribal Foods, which he initially operated from a rented kitchen space before he started cooking from home.

‘He was not in receipt of any benefits at that time and was relying on the business, which was not profitable at any stage, to support his basic living needs,’ Mr Adamson said.

Judge Francis Sheridan said: ‘Your little business got bigger than you could handle and you resorted to frankly disgusting techniques – fish on the floor of the bathroom, fish in the bathtub, and then you cooked them up and sold them.

‘How you would even think about serving food kept like that to even your own family beggars belief.

‘You were preparing food for supply to outlets, supermarkets and corner stores, and the food was frankly unfit for human consumption.

‘You might be a good cook of oriental foods in your own home, but you should keep that within your own home.

‘You must realise that food poisoning can have very serious consequences, even death, and if that had happened you would be facing manslaughter charges.’

He sentenced him to two years in custody but suspended the sentence for two years.

An order was made banning Akuoko from operating any food business for five years.

Judge Sheridan praised the ‘dogged’ efforts of the environmental health team who he said had performed a public service.

Justine Hoy, Associate Director Housing and Wellbeing for Watford Borough Council, said: ‘Food safety laws exist to protect the public. In this case, there was a clear and sustained failure to comply with legal requirements, despite formal enforcement action being taken.

‘We will not hesitate to take action where businesses or individuals put public health at risk. This successful prosecution demonstrates our commitment to maintaining high food safety standards across Watford.’

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