Liverpool takeaway hit with one star hygiene rating after inspector finds ‘dirty’ food containers

Inspectors said there was not hand soap available.
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A Freedom of Information request to Liverpool Council by LiverpoolWorld has revealed the details of a food hygiene inspection, which saw a local takeaway hit with a one star rating.

Oriental in West Derby dropped from a three to a one star rating for food hygiene, following a visit from the Liverpool City Council’s food inspectors in April.

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The Chinese and English takeaway on Lower House Lane has 4.4 out of 5 stars on Google, from 57 reviews, however, the latest food hygiene report suggests it is not operating as well as it should be.

Details of the inspection on April 21 have show environmental health officials had concerns over cleanliness and the condition of facilities, plus food safety, with hand soap not being available on the premises and ‘dirty’ food containers.

On the menu: The takeaway serves up a range of Chinese dishes, including chow mein and salt and pepper beef, as well as English dishes. Meals cost around £5 and the takeaway is cash only.

Food hygiene report:

Officers inspect key legal requirements and provide actions needed to improve compliance and food hygiene ratings. They are as follows:

  • Food hygiene and safety (How hygienically the food is being handled - storage, defrosting, preparation, cooking/reheating, cooling and display. Measures taken to prevent food being contaminated and ensure safe temperature control. Cleaning and disinfection practices and staff food hygiene training and awareness): Oriental was rated 10 for food hygiene and safety compliance, with 0 being the best score and the poorest being 25. This is a rating of ‘generally satisfactory’. The inspector noted: ‘Defrosting of frozen chicken in rear store room at room temp, should be done under temperature control eg in fridge. Soap required to wash hands in basin. Date coding of stored items required.’
  • Structural requirements (The condition of the structure of the premises/food rooms including appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control to enable good food hygiene): Oriental was rated 15 for structural requirements, with 0 being the best score and the poorets being 30. This is a rating of ‘improvement necessary’. The inspector noted: ‘Food containers in store room are dirty. Maintain in a clean state. Floor in dry goods room is dirty. Silicone seals to rear of sinks are mouldy. Food containers are split and defective.’
  • Confidence in management/controls (System 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): Oriental was rated 20 for confidence in management/controls, with 0 being the best score and the poorest being 30. This is a rating of ‘major improvement necessary’. The inspector noted: ‘No documented food safety management system.’
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A combined score of 45 gives Oriental an overall rating on one star, which is the ranking for scores between 45-50. A five star rating sees total scores between 0-15.

The report shows that cross contamination controls were all being followed, apart from containers not being in ‘good condition’. Staff members all had ‘satisfactory’ levels of personal hygiene and waste control procedures were followed. Hand soap was not available, however, hand drying facilities were.

The inspector recommended staff be given further training on topics such as stock control and defrosting. Walls, surfaces and doors were in a ‘good/clean condition’ however, floors, ceiling and equipment were not.

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