A Leeds takeaway with “dirty” and “mouldy” fixtures was told by food inspectors to have a big clean up after it got a low food hygiene rating.
But the manager at LFC in Burley Road has hit back saying that “none of our customers fall ill” and they provide “very edible food and very good food,” after they were given the two-star hygiene rating.
The inspectors said the takeaway needed to train staff in food hygiene, wear suitable protective clothing and have a written food safety management system in place. Food was also found uncovered in the fridges and freezers, and raw burgers stored by salad items.
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Al, who didn’t want his last name published, has been running the business for his family who acquired it six years ago. He said the inspector was “very nit-picky”, calling them “not fair at all”.
He added small businesses are facing tough times and this type of report is not helpful. The inspectors, working on behalf of Leeds City Council, visited on April 12 and awarded the takeaway a two star hygiene rating which means "improvements are necessary".
Al said: “It was not fair at all. A lot of it came down to very nit-picky stuff. They wrote down trivial stuff. We had a whole book completely filled out and everything, and they completely disregarded it.
“Just because there was one trivial section we missed out [we got a bad score] and it’s not like we missed out that section on purpose."
“Small businesses are getting affected more than anything at the end of the day, none of our customers fall ill. Most of our customers come in every other day. We’ve got numerous customers who come in literally every day," he added.
“It’s not the best of areas and we provide cheaper than average food which is very edible food and very good food. No one ever gets ill, we’ve never had any issues.”
Inspectors wrote that staff needed to wear suitable protective clothing. That raw burgers stored in fridge next to salad items, which leaves them at risk of cross contamination.
LFC staff were told to clean inside fridges and freezers and replace any dirty defective door lid seals. They were also told to clean the walls, floor and ceiling, and to remove mouldy sealant above the double sink unit.
Management was told to provide a written food safety management system and train staff in food hygiene. They were also told to cover foods in fridges and freezers. They were also told to provide hot water to the wash hand basin and to disinfect food wash sink after washing chicken.
Al has said his staff were wearing suitable clothing, the raw burgers were in a box and away from the salad. He said the shop “wasn’t really dirty” and said there was a block inside large extractor fan which called some grease on the way, but admitted some door handles needed replacing. He’s added the mouldy sealant by the sink has since been replaced.
He said they had a written food safety management system in place but they’d written it in the wrong book which was missing one “trivial” section. He said that all staff have trained in food hygiene and “I don’t know why he [the inspector] wrote that,” and has the certification to prove it.
In terms of uncovered food, he’s said only one set of beef burgers were uncovered and that’s because they were defrosting in the fridge. There was no hot water to the wash hand basin due to a “burst pipe”, according to Al, who added that there was warm water. He’s also added that the food wash sink is disinfected after raw chicken is washed in it.
A spokesperson for Leeds City Council 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.
“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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