Wirral takeaway hit with zero star hygiene rating - ‘urgent improvement’ necessary

A Wirral takeaway has been hit with a zero star food hygiene rating, after being visited by environmental health officers in April.

Victoria Kebab & Pizza House on Bebington Road has 4.1 out of 5 stars on Google, from 152 reviews, however, the latest food hygiene report suggests it is not operating as well as it should be, with ‘urgent improvement’ needed in key areas.

Details of the inspection on April 24 have just been released and show environmental health officials had major concerns over cleanliness and the condition of facilities, plus food safety.

On the menu: The takeaway serves up a range of fast-food dishes, including burgers, pizzas and kebabs. A full meal costs around £6-£10.

Food hygiene report: The full details of the inspection have not yet been released, but information sent out with the zero star rating showed improvement was necessary in the following areas:

• Hygienic food handling: including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage - rated as ‘urgent improvement necessary’.
• Cleanliness and condition of facilities and building: including having appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control to enable good food hygiene - rated as ‘urgent improvement necessary.’
• Management of food safety: 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 - rated as ‘urgent improvement necessary.’

Management at Victoria Kebab & Pizza House told LiverpoolWorld:“We’ve had pest control here and they said everything is fine. Everything is back to normal and we’ll be inviting officers back to reinspect and provide a new rating.”

What next: Should Victoria Kebab & Pizza House seek to appeal the decision, the business will need to contact Wirral Council for a breakdown of why the lowest rating possible was awarded. If this is still felt to be wrong or unfair, management can appeal to the FSA in writing to challenge the decision. A right to reply will also be published on the FSA website alongside its rating.