A Merseyside takeaway was slammed in a report which revealed it stocked out-of-date meat and stored prawn crackers in dirty cardboard boxes.
Jimmy’s Continental Cuisine, on St Paul’s Road in Seacombe, Wirral, was found to have “numerous cobwebs and spiders throughout the premises” in a food hygiene inspection conducted by Wirral Council.
Inspectors gave Jimmy’s a zero star hygiene rating after visiting it on December 11 last year.
One serious issue at the takeaway was storage.
The report read: “Kebab meat was not being hygienically stored in the refrigerator.
“It was also past the manufacturers' use by date and should not be reheated more than once.”
But there were several other problems at the Seacombe restaurant.
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The report added: “An unwashed cheese grater with lots of dirt build-up was being stored in the fridge inside the cheese. This should be cleaned between uses and not stored inside the food.
“Shelving/racking that the chopping boards and pan lids were being stored on were greasy and had cobwebs [on them]. This should be cleaned to prevent contamination of food.”
Even the cleaning equipment itself was dirty, the document continued: “At the time of my visit, you had six bottles of Dettol disinfectant, one Flash with Bleach and a Tesco own brand antibacterial, which were all full, unopened, greasy and sticky to touch.”
Worryingly, inspectors said hand washing was not taking place at Jimmy’s.
The report read: “During my inspection I did not witness you washing your hands at any point. It is important that food handlers wash their hands effectively in order to remove any harmful bacteria.
“You explained that burgers were removed from the fridge on the paper, placed into the fryer and then your hands were washed before touching other food or equipment.
“However, I witnessed a burger being made and this was not the process, no hand washing took place at any time whilst I was at the premises.”
A further issue at Jimmy’s was the management of allergens.
On this, the report said: “As there is no two-stage clean in place, cross-contamination cannot be prevented, you must not tell any customers that you can provide allergen free meals.”
Jimmy’s was approached for comment, but did not respond by the time of publication.
