A FOOD supplier in Colchester which sells goats heads and beef snouts has applied to Colchester Council for retrospective permission to change the use of its building. 

Yawee Foods, which describes itself as being “a peculiar African and Caribbean wholesale and retail store,” is based in Davey Close.

The firm has now applied to Colchester Council for a retrospective change of use from warehouse to retail. 

The planning application said: "It is a warehouse and we use it for wholesales and retailing.

"There are no changes made to the structure of the building, either internally or externally.

"There are no demarcations made either, the warehouse unit is used as it is."

Earlier this year it was revealed the shop had been ordered to undergo a deep clean after inspectors found "blood splashing" on the handle of a walk-in freezer.

When inspected by the Food Standards Agency in March last year, the store was given two stars out of five, and an inspection which took place earlier this year yielded the same result.

But the full inspection report, which was uncovered following a Freedom of Information request, found immediate improvements were needed across a range of departments to prevent cross-contamination of meat and vegetables.

Containers of soap were found sitting on the floor and boxes of meat were obstructing handwashing basins, the report found.

The FSA report outlined five food handling procedures which needed to be rectified immediately, with four legal requirements needing to be met as soon as possible.

Yawee Foods declined to comment on the report at the time when contacted by the Gazette.

Colchester Council will have the final say on the plans.