YOU MIGHT think your favourite takeaway place is yummy but it might also be yucky. Student favourites, Dominic’s Pizza, Jenny’s Fish and Chips, and Barbican Road’s Regency restaurant only scored a shocking ONE STAR in their latest food hygiene inspections, York Vision has learned.
The designation, the second lowest possible, means that “major improvements are necessary” in food preparation and cleanliness.
Food Safety Officer Reports, written at the end of each business’ Food Hygiene inspection, and obtained by Vision under the Freedom of Information Act reveal a shocking series of failures by the businesses to make sure that hygiene standards are maintained.
Regency restaurant, which was last inspected in December 2016, had been using a DIRTY CLOTH as a plug in their kitchen sink the report reveals. Shockingly, staff had also left a packet of out of date bacon on the side at room temperature for the entire duration of service, and also had not being wearing “suitable and clean over-clothing” when the inspection started.
In addition, the Food Safety Officer slammed the business for not keeping soap next to the washbasin in which staff cleaned their hands; for not checking the temperature of their fridges; and for allowing a “greasy build-up of food debris” to accumulate in the raw meat preparation room.
Meanwhile, an inspection for Jenny’s Fish and Chips, a takeaway on popular student area Lawrence Street, found that fish was being defrosted at an ambient temperature, which the inspector warned “will encourage the growth of food poisoning bacteria”.
At the time of the inspection, in June 2016, Jenny’s Fish and Chips also hadn’t been providing “materials for the cleaning and hygienic drying of hands” by a staff sink, the report reveals. York Council’s Food Safety Officer also sharply criticised the food outlet for not providing any evidence that staff were appropriately food hygiene trained.
Student fave, Dominic’s Pizza on Hull Road, was also blasted for failings in cleanliness and safe food preparation by the City Council’s inspectors. The pizza place had been keeping raw chicken next to ready-to-eat foods such as yoghurt and parsley, which food safety officers marked as a “major non-compliance” with food safety laws.
Bosses at the pizzeria had also been storing ground chicken and beef for pizzas at temperatures of 10.4 and 9.4 degrees respectively, well above the 8 degrees guideline. The report found that this meant the food was at “high risk”, and was “likely to support the growth of food poisoning bacteria and other toxins”.
Other food stored at unsafe temperatures on the premises included pizza sauce, which was being kept a staggering 10 degrees below the recommended temperature to ensure food safety. Another revelation contained the report reveals that drinks were being held in a wire mesh cage which contained a hole “allowing access to birds”.
Hipster coffee joint, Bison Coffee, was also hit with a one star rating in its food inspection in June 2016. However, the premises have since been taken over by new management after the shock inspection, and the business now has the best possible rating of 5 stars.
i have been going to these places for many years and can guarantee that its false information and that they are very clean always . never had food problems in many years and these
allegations are unfounded.
George these aren’t allegations I’ve made. I’ve just reported what the Council’s own food safety officer found when doing hygiene inspections for each of the businesses. I’m not sure how they can be ‘unfounded’ or ‘false information’, unless you know more about each of the businesses’ hygiene inspections than the Council official who carried them out?