Food horror finds revealed

The Express & Star today lifts the lid on food failings from behind the scenes that bosses don't want their diners to know about.

More than 50 pubs, restaurants, takeaways, roadside cafes, hotels, general stores and supermarkets were visited by Cannock Chase District Council's environmental health officers in the first six weeks of 2007.

According to information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, the catalogue of failures in the food hygiene inspection reports included:

• Insect pupae in a dry store and a previous problem with flies and maggots infestation.

• A rusty can opener and cobwebs in a school canteen.

• Staff smoking in a food storeroom.

• Using pine disinfectant on chopping boards.

• Kebab meat repeatedly heated and cooled.

• Handling raw meat with bare hands.

Businesses that fail to meet the Government's strict hygiene standards can be prosecuted, shut down or have their food seized in the worst cases.

But none of the 50 venues visited faced legal proceedings and all have now improved on their failings.

Environmental health officer David Prosser-Davies said: "The inspections can only be a good thing for the public and they are a great incentive for businesses to get it right all the time."

And here is a list of some of the worst offences recorded in the reports, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.They included:

Etching Hill Primary School, Penk Drive, Rugeley. Corroded and worn can opener. Cobwebs and flaking paintwork on walls of vegetable preparation room. No date labels on various portions of frozen ham.

Victoria Cafe, Albion Street, Rugeley. Staff smoking in food storeroom. Employee handled raw bacon with bare hands then cracked eggs on to griddle.

Caffe Santini Metro, Indoor market, Rugeley. Pine disinfectant used on chopping boards. Frozen meals defrosting in fridge. Cobwebs and greasy deposits on ceiling. Broken fridge thermometer.

Snack and Go, Mill Park Industrial Estate, Hawks Green, Cannock. Re-freezing defrosted burgers. Using anti-bacterial cleaner containing bleach.

The Mediterranean takeaway, Brook Square, Rugeley. Kebab meat repeatedly heated and cooled. Raw burger put on griddle with bare hands, before handled bread roll without washing hands, creating serious risk of cross-contamination. Sauces at room temperature that should be chilled. No pest control contract.

Asda staff restaurant, Avon Road, Cannock. Not disinfecting food probe before putting it in food. A packet of liver with green discolouration and nine months past its use-by date if not frozen found in the freezer. Keeping a chicken dish warm without recording temperature.

Stafford Lane Stores, Stafford Lane, Cannock. Pork pie past its use-by date. No lid on staff toilet. Fire exit blocked.

Hassetts furniture store snack bar, Rugeley. Staff partially cooked bacon, cooled it then finished off process when order placed. Chicken defrosted at room temperature. Inadequate food hygiene awareness among staff. No hot water in toilets.

Somerfield, Market Hall Street, Cannock. Raw skewered chickens touching their plastic delivery boxes after being removed. Several products covered in frost and ice in freezer.

Green Lane Stores, Springfields, Rugeley. High risk foods including yoghurts found past their use-by date.

Anchor Stores, Bevan Lee Road, Chadsmoor, Cannock. Three muffins past their best-before date. No pest control contract.

Aldi, Market Street, Rugeley. Three bottles of Optifit and packet of tuna pasta salad past their use-by date. Wet floor creating hazard. Too dark in walk-in freezer for thorough cleaning.

Businesses that failed to meet the Government's strict hygiene standards today said they had rectified all problems highlighted in the inspections.

None of the venues visited during the six-week period faced any legal proceedings for their problems.

David Prosser-Davies, environmental health officer at Cannock Chase District Council, said successful and hygienic eateries had nothing to fear from inspections, or from the new website, which will give them a star rating to help boost their business.

He said the inspections were important, both to ensure safety and reassure the public.

"The inspections are done as part of a government programme with universal standards. Ultimately the purpose is to ensure that food which is stored, manufactured and sold to the public is safe," he said.

"We achieve that through a mixture of education approaches, advising businesses and enforcement. Where we find conditions aren't in line with what the legislation required we generally write to them and request changes."

He added: "It is highly unusual for us to take legal action against a food business, the vast majority in Cannock operate to acceptable standards and those that don't will have taken appropriate action.

"I would say that on the whole businesses respond well to our inspections and we generally have good working relations with them."

A spokesman for Asda said the liver had been placed in the freezer fresh and would have been fine to cook. She said: "We no longer use frozen meat at all but it's important to stress this meat was not 'off'."

She added that staff do use disinfectant wipes and she explained that the cooked chicken had been tested two minutes after being put on a hot plate.

By Andy Rea