Staff at a Leeds sandwich shop have hit out at a “nit-picky” food inspector who gave them a one-star food hygiene rating.
Emma’s Sandwich Bar in Armley was told to “clean and degrease all surfaces, including walls and ceiling” by Leeds City Council inspectors. But a staff member called the inspection a “mishap” and said the inspector was being “harsh because he had a trainee with him”.
The inspector noted down multiple issues in the Wortley Road deli after visiting on February 15, awarding it the second lowest rating possible. A one-star rating means 'major improvements are necessary'.
Read more: McDonald's food hygiene ratings for every branch across Leeds
Emma’s staff said they closed down for two days following the inspection to sort out the problems, clean and repaint the building.
The inspector also said food containers were not date labelled, so it wasn’t certain when the food would pass its ‘use by date’. He said the shop deli needed ‘pest proofing’ with repairs made to the “warped” rear door.
The wash hand basin was found “leaking” and needed to be repaired. He asked them to rub down the flaking paint, repair a window and replace “damage/defective” equipment. He also told them they needed to obtain, complete and maintain a food safety management system.
'Harsh, nit-picky'
A member of staff said: “End of the day, there was a bit of a mishap, I don’t think it was fair. We closed down for two days for a general clean and to repaint as it’s an old building. We’re going to have it re-inspected. The problem is he’d come in, he was a really really nit-picky person, we don’t think it was fair. It wasn’t fair.”
She went on to say the shop had complained about the “nit-picky” food inspector. She said: “I understand they’ve got jobs to do but I think he was being harsh because he had a trainee with him.”
She added that all issues had been solved after closing the shop for two days, claiming the premises had been pest proofed, the wash basin had been fixed, defective equipment had been replaced and made assurances that they’d never had out of date food in the premises.
She said: “He knocked us down by a point for having the wrong manual, we didn’t realise we had to have a different one from the one we have.”
'Vital food businesses are kept clean,' says council
A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: “A food hygiene inspection was carried out by Environmental Health Officers on 15th February 2022 with the business receiving a 1 Rating under the Food Standards Agency Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, indicating major improvement was necessary.
“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.”
“Following the 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.”
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