Over the past year Mr Costelloe found mould growing on meat, rice and a tin of syrup, uncovered food, cooked and uncooked found placed together and a pig's head from a home kill in the freezer with loose cakes like doughnuts and eclairs. Other problems included a pastry flan base uncovered with a plate of mince left on top, a mincer with old encrusted meat on it, fly spotting, and a sick baby playing with kitchen implements.
The council ordered the shop closed in December 2013 because of the unsafe food practices, but the owner defied the order and reopened it.
In January council did not renew Mr Sun's registration and gave chief executive Ross McNeill the go-ahead to prosecute him.
Mr Costelloe told the Chronicle that the state of the Bulls Bakery had been an "ongoing food-safety nightmare" and council bylaws needed to be strengthened to deal with food premises.
"You know the times I went there, pointed out what they were doing wrong, and told them they needed to clean their shop, the appliances, cover their food, to stop piling food into the fridges unwrapped ... and on it went.
"A little bit would happen, some cleaning, but it was never enough."
Mr Costelloe recommended to council last week that a new draft bylaw be prepared on food premises.
He said council officers lack the power to close premises without going to court.
"A possible solution is the development of a bylaw which would allow the establishment of food safety standards, provide tools to ensure compliance and implement a food grading system so the the public know what they're dealing with."
There has never been a grading system of food premises in the Rangitikei area, so the public have no idea what they're buying or what standard they are buying, he said.
Currently food-handling premises throughout the district are under the Food Hygiene Regulations 1974, which means the premises are simply licensed for food handling but minimal attention is paid to the way food is handled, Mr Costelloe said.
There several territorial authorities operating grading systems like Auckland and South Taranaki, he said.
Having a solid bylaw in place would reduce confusion for business owners too.
"It would be a much simpler way to enforce high food-handling practices."
Mr Costelloe said with the comparatively high incidence of food-born diseases in the Rangitikei, and the recent attempts to clean up the Bulls Bakery shows clearly that a food bylaw and interventions by council was necessary.
"Where a food premises don't meet food handling standards then a new bylaw will increase the power of the council to act."
Council agreed a new draft bylaw for food premises be prepared.
But bakery owner Mr Sun said he felt he was being picked on by the council.
"They make it very hard for me to run my business. They photo of the floor - I didn't make the floor."
Mr Sun said he wants to take a break and do up his shop.
"I hope court let me stay open otherwise I will just have to go away. I try very hard, this is my business and I do not want to close up. I want council to leave me alone."
