A Hammersmith café has been given a food hygiene rating of one after ‘out of date food’ was found in the fridge and ‘raw meat was stored incorrectly’.
Café Del Mundo on Hammersmith Road was given the low food hygiene rating after an inspection in May 2021.
The inspector reported a number of violations and suggested many areas that need to be improved to meet the expected standards.
READ MORE: Camden pizza restaurant gets food hygiene rating of 1 after raw meat found defrosting on worktops
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One significant issue noted in the inspector’s report was that raw foods, such as chicken, were not being stored properly.
According to the report, at the time of the inspection raw chicken was being prepared in and around the wash basin in the serving area.
Raw foods, such as chicken, were also stored above open and cooked ready to eat foods in the fridge.
The inspector noted that by storing raw foods in this way they may drip or fall into items below and can cause cross contamination, potentially leading to food poisoning.
In the report the café was encouraged to reorganise the fridge.
The report also claimed that there were numerous food items found in the preparation fridge which were past their use-by date.
According to the inspector, it is an offence to sell or expose for sale food with an expired use by date.
A number of other issues were flagged in the report, including the discovery of cooked rice being kept out at room temperature.
The inspector said that to prevent toxins forming, cooked rice should be kept either hot or it should be cooled as quickly as possible.
Other issues flagged included the cleanliness of the area and their cleaning processes.
The report noted that dirty wiping cloths were used to clean down and mop spillages, and said at the time of the inspection the member of staff who was in charge was unsure of how to use sanitiser, even though they were handling and preparing raw chicken.
The inspector recommended that better training was given on how to clean down after meat preparation.
Some structural requirements were mentioned in the report, such as the points that there was no hot water supply to the sink in the preparation area, and the hot water to the toilet wash hand basin was not hot enough.
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The report also noted that the cover to the manhole in the basement toilet lobby was “ill fitting and looked like it had been gnawed”.
It stated that when the cover was lifted there were rat droppings in an open sewer underneath.
The café was advised to get a new cover which is close fitting and prevents the ingress of pests.
The inspector also made judgements on their food safety management system and food safety training.
When contacted by My London for comment, Cafe Del Mundo said: “The inspection should not have taken place as there was an inexperienced temporary employee on the day of the inspection and not the owner/manager and this was the reason for the poor rating.”
The café has also since been re-inspected, and they have said they are expecting their rating to return to their previously higher number of four instead of one.
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