Aigburth Road's China Panda chippy hit with zero food hygiene rating and told to make urgent improvements
A Liverpool chippy once thought to be one of the city’s cleanest has been slapped with the worst possible food hygiene rating.
As recently as April this year, China Panda on Aigburth Road was among the 65 highest rated sites offering takeaways.
However, the business which has been a popular staple in the south of the city, has been told urgent improvements are necessary after an assessment by environmental health inspectors working in partnership with the Food Standards Agency (FSA). Concerns have been raised about a number of conditions inside the takeaway.
As a result, it has slipped from a five out of five rating deeming it to be very good, to zero out of five. This means urgent changes are needed.
Food hygiene inspections are carried out by Liverpool Council’s environmental health service in order to ensure food served to the public is safe to eat. Officers can turn up unannounced and can take food samples and photographs to support any investigation.
Unless there is an immediate risk to health, businesses who received bad ratings are given time to make changes so things improve. They can also ask to be re-inspected or appeal the verdict handed down by officials.
A brief report available on the FSA website said the business was assessed for its hygienic handling of food including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage. Assessors said urgent improvements were required at the chippy.
Further upgrades were required in the cleanliness and condition of facilities and buildings, including having appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control, to enable good food hygiene. Urgent improvements were said to be required in the systems or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future.
According to its website, China Panda is “committed to providing you with the best culinary experience and also keep maintaining the highest hygiene standards.” The business was inspected on June 18.
Its blurb added: “We assure you that every single member of our staff will give you the finest food experience which will undoubtedly entice you to come back for more.” The hygiene rating was updated on Monday July 21.
The LDRS made multiple attempts to contact China Panda in response to the food hygiene rating changes. Members of the public can check the food hygiene rating of most food business in Liverpool by visiting www.food.gov.uk/ratings