Ghanaian businessman selling fast food in UK jailed for storing fish in washroom

A Ghanaian businessman based in the United Kingdom, 62-year-old Stephen Akuoko, has been sentenced to two years in prison for violating food hygiene regulations.

In addition to his custodial sentence, Akuoko has been banned from operating any food business for five years and ordered to pay £2,500 in court costs.

Akuoko, who supplied ready meals to supermarkets and corner shops under the name Tribal Foods in Watford, Hertfordshire, had been in business for over three years.

Authorities discovered that he was storing mackerel in unsanitary conditions—both in his bathtub and on the bathroom floor next to the toilet.

According to a report by The Telegraph on April 7, 2026, the council’s environmental health team had attempted to inspect his operations but faced difficulties until a fire incident at his flat on Haines Way in October 2024 brought the situation to light.

Firefighters responding to a wok-related fire discovered large quantities of fish stored in unhygienic conditions.

Akuoko pleaded guilty to two food safety offences at St Albans Magistrates’ Court on February 11, 2026, and was subsequently sentenced at St Albans Crown Court on April 2, 2026. The council explained that the prosecution was pursued due to the severity of the hygiene breaches, his lack of cooperation during the investigation, and the potential risk to public health.

Delivering the judgement, Judge Francis Sheridan condemned Akuoko’s practices, stating, "Your little business got bigger than you could handle, and you resorted to frankly disgusting practices… fish on the floor of the bathroom, fish in the bathtub, and then you cooked them and sold them. You must realise that food poisoning can have very serious consequences, even death, and if that had happened, you would be facing manslaughter charges."

The case serves as a stark reminder of the critical importance of food safety and hygiene standards.