A “frustrated” Leeds takeaway owner has hit back after his takeaway got a damning one-star rating, in part due to staff having “very poor” food hygiene knowledge.
Daf, who owns Krispee’s Chicken House in Kippax, says it was “unfair” as the inspector chose to interview his delivery driver on food hygiene knowledge. The inspector was working on behalf of Leeds City Council and the local authority said the chef and counter staff were also spoken to.
The takeaway in High Street was visited on June 22 and received the second lowest rating possible. A one-star hygiene rating means ‘major improvements are necessary’ after multiple issues were found at the takeaway.
Read more: Leeds man called 'insane' for opening quirky shop admits he's 'scared' of Christmas sales
The inspector found no food safety management system or allergen information in place. They also wrote: “Food hygiene knowledge of your food handlers is very poor”
The toilet sink needed cleaning, and there was flaking paint and rusty shelving in the cold room.
High risk foods were found stored above recommended temperatures. Raw burgers were stored next to burger buns, risking cross-contamination. Plus, cooked chicken was held at temperatures below 63C.
Burgers were handled and cooked with just one cooking tool. A separate one needs to be used to take cooked burgers off the grill, avoiding the risk of cross-contamination.
Daf, who took over the takeaway in October last year, says he’s made all necessary adjustments but hit back at the inspector. He said: “They interviewed my delivery driver. You get a sheet which tells you who was interviewed.
“My delivery driver does not handle or interact with the food, all she does is take deliveries and orders. She specifically does not get involved with any of the cooking for that reason.
“So that’s one thing we had a bit of an issue with. We thought it wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair to question someone who doesn’t handle food on food knowledge. Needless to say, I don’t think it’s representative of the business. We have our hygiene certificates.”
He’s also claimed there were issues because he and another manager were on holiday at the time.
He said: “Myself and one of the other managers were not actually in the country at the time. Our staff were running the shop so I think it was just a case of things might have got out of hand whilst we were gone.
“When we found out that was happening, we weren’t overly pleased as we train our staff to do otherwise. Maybe my staff was slacking when we were away but usually our staff are very good with this kind of stuff.”
Asked if he was blaming his staff, Daf was quick to say: “I don’t want to come across like my staff are incompetent. There are things on there that are [to blame] on the business as well. I do take responsibility, it is upon myself to make sure my staff are upholding standards. Since then my staff have gone through things again. I wouldn’t say my staff are incompetent at all. My staff are trained very well.
“Seeing that one-star was frustrating but then again, I don’t want to sit here and blame my staff as ultimately I am responsible for them.”
Daf added the staff toilet feel separate to the business as it’s on a different floor, so the sink was an oversight on his part and has since been cleaned.
A Leeds City Council 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, irrespective of the presence of the owner or manager.
“In this particular inspection the chef and counter/delivery staff were asked about hygiene practices as both roles involve food handling.
“Following an inspection, a food business operator is able to appeal the Food Hygiene Scheme Rating score within 21 days of the inspection if they think it is unfair or request a revisit by an officer to reassess the premises subject to paying a fee when they have rectified all the legal matters identified in the report.”
Read next:
- Homeless Leeds man living with 'terrifying' rare condition that has left him with no belly button
- Leeds man 'frustrated' after £380,000 of taxpayers' money spent on traveller camps
- BBC Radio 2 Live in Leeds cancelled after the Queen's death
- When Leeds United's clash with Nottingham Forest could be played after postponement
- Inside Leeds Rhinos' travel plans for play-off trip to Perpignan
