Hygiene inspectors unearth can opener ‘encrusted with food, dirty trays and greasy fan' at takeaway
Food hygiene inspectors unearthed a can opener ‘encrusted with food’ as well as a ‘dirty’ equipment, oven and containers at a Teesside takeaway.
The owner of Pizza Hotline was ‘strongly recommended to draw up a cleaning schedule’. The Norton eatery was slapped with a Food Standards Agency (FSA) score of two following an inspection on August 12.
A report, provided by Stockton Council, has uncovered the problem areas of the Surrey Road store which led to the ‘improvement necessary’ label. “The fridge, freezers, pizza tray lids, pizza oven, plastic pizza tray storage tray, fryers, dry food storage containers, dough roller, shelving, main sinks and the wash hand basin in the food preparation area were dirty,” the report states.
“These must be thoroughly cleaned (and disinfected) and maintained in a clean condition.” The inspector added that the upright fridge door, in the rear food preparation area, was starting to rust and could not be “adequately cleaned”.
Owner Shahid Afsar was instructed to repair the fridge door to allow it to be thoroughly cleaned and where necessary disinfected. The floor covering, in the food preparation and food storage areas, was also found to be “dirty especially at floor/wall junctions and behind or below equipment”.
The report also states: “The heavy duty can opener was encrusted with food which would cause contamination of the food in the next tin opened. The can opener must be cleaned and sanitised regularly.
“All areas where food is prepared and stored must be clean and capable of being kept clean. This is so that pests are not attracted into your premises and the risk of food being contaminated by dirt is minimised.
“The extractor fan/canopy/filters in the servery were in a dirty/greasy condition. They must be thoroughly cleaned and maintained in a clean condition.”
'Gone beyond all recommendations'
Mr Afsar spoke to Teesside Live regarding the food hygiene rating and told us that he has “met or gone beyond” all the recommendations made by the FSA. He said: “Also all swabs taken came back all clear and we are now waiting on a retest and are confident we will be back up to our usual five star rating.”
The report gave Mr Afsar recommendations to follow. It states: “You have put in place a Food Safety Management Procedure, with adequate documentation, however staff were not carrying out the identified controls at critical points. In particular at the time of the visit it was noted that there was a lack of implementation especially in relation to the cleaning schedule.
"You must ensure that staff are properly trained and are aware of the controls they need to carry out. Staff must also be supervised and checked as necessary, so you are sure that all controls that are critical to food safety are being properly implemented and maintained.”
Pizza Hotline serves up ‘freshly made pizzas, hand-made burgers and 100% fresh chicken parmos’. The takeaway has a 3.8 rating on Google from 101 reviews.
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