Stockton Fryer's full food hygiene report revealed

The full food hygiene report for the Stockton Fryer, off London Road, has been obtained by the Warrington Guardian.

A Freedom of Information request was made to Warrington Borough Council to hand over a copy of the chip shop's latest inspection results.

The chip shop was rated one-out-of-five in its latest inspection (Image: Food Standards Agency)

The inspection, which took place on August 23, saw the fish and chip shop rated one-out-of-five for food hygiene.

Broadly speaking, food hygiene inspections are undertaken against the following criteria:

• Hygienic food handling - Hygienic handling of food including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage.
• Management of food safety - System or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future.
• Cleanliness and condition of facilities and building - Cleanliness and condition of facilities and building (including having appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control) to enable good food hygiene.

Establishments are graded out of a total of 80 points regarding how compliant they are with food hygiene regulations.

The smaller the number, the more compliant an establishment is with regulations - the Stockton Fryer totalled 50 points in its inspection.

According to the report, the Stockton Fryer was graded in the following ways:

• Compliance with food hygiene and safety procedures - 15/25
• Compliance with structural requirements - 15/25
• Confidence in management/ control procedures - 20/30

Some of the report's findings included:

• Dirty wiping cloths were used to clean down and mop up spillages
• Carrots were being stored on the floor inside the walk-in chiller
• It was noted that the wash hand basin was not in regular use
• The fridge and freezer door seals were dirty/mouldy
• The wash basins including the basin in the staff WC and the basin in the Chinese kitchen were dirty
• The hand towel dispensers at both wash hand basins were dirty. In addition, the soap dispenser at the front wash hand basin was also dirty
• The drain cover plate in the rear yard was clogged with dirt, grease and food debris
• Flies were seen inside the premises at the time of the inspection
• There was a build-up of dead insects inside the electric fly killer in the front servery
• The standard of cleaning to the structure of both kitchens including the work surfaces was generally poor. A thorough deep clean is required

The report also highlights that many of the practices put in place regarding food hygiene were either not complied with or not up to date.

It was also noted that some items - such as burger buns - were being used past their 'best before' date; which, although not illegal, is advised against as the quality of ingredients cannot be guaranteed after this date.

The inspector noted: "It was apparent from discussions and observations during my inspection that the level of food hygiene awareness amongst your staff was inadequate on certain important food safety matters related to their work responsibilities.

"In particular, the standard of cleaning at the time of the inspection was poor."

The inspector also suggested that the cooking areas were not cigarette smoke-free, adding: "Evidence of smoking was noted in the staff WC, a cigarette end had been placed in the toilet.

"Food handlers must not smoke in any food-handling area."

All information is provided by Warrington Borough Council and is accurate at the time of writing.