Just Eat has booted a Leeds takeaway with a zero star food hygiene rating from its site after rat droppings were found in the utensil box, work surfaces and in the basement.
Chicken Hut in Dewsbury Road, Beeston, was given the lowest possible rating, meaning ‘urgent improvements are necessary’ after inspectors visited on July 5. The takeaway had been operating on Just Eat ever since.
Its name change to Chicken Hot, which it is registered as with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) website, possibly caused it to slip underneath the radar. Due to Just Eat's policy to not allow establishments below three star to operate on the platform, it can no longer take orders from there until it gets a better rating.
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A Just Eat spokesperson said: "We take food safety extremely seriously and have led the way in driving up standards across the sector. We do not allow zero-rated restaurants to trade on the Just Eat platform, and we offer dedicated support, fully funded by us, to any restaurant partners with a food hygiene rating of below 3."
"This restaurant has been removed from the platform, and will remain offline until it makes the necessary improvements to get back up to this standard."
The inspection found "rat droppings" inside a food utensil box and on a work surface where dried food powders were stored. They also told restaurant owner Hamzeh Mohammed, 44, his food hygiene knowledge was "poor" and noticed raw chicken was being stored above cooked chicken and salad in the walk-in chiller.
A Leeds City Council spokesperson said on a routine check-up, Hamzeh had complied with the inspector’s instructions and would have to pay for a new inspection to improve Chicken Hut/Hot’s rating.
The spokesperson said: “All food businesses in Leeds are regularly inspected by Environmental Health Officers on a risk-basis to check their compliance with legislation all food businesses must follow and which are designed to protect food safety and public health.
“To protect public health it is vital that food businesses are kept clean, in good repair, have all the necessary facilities, and have effective food management practices in place.
"The initial inspection at Chicken Hot did identify a number of areas of non-compliance and was awarded a zero hygiene rating. There was a follow up enforcement visit in July and the premises is now compliant with food hygiene standards, however the rating will not change unless the business submits a request for a re-visit.”
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