Choosing which restaurant to eat in the Trafford Centre’s food court can be a tough choice at times – but did you ever spare a thought for the food hygiene of your favourite eatery?
MM can reveal that the hygiene ratings of the different restaurants and fast food outlets vary wildly according to the Food Standards Agency.
So while 61% of the 67 restaurants receive a commendable five star or very good rating and 21% receiving four stars, others leave a lot to be desired.
And worst on the list? Shere Khan Express was visited by Trafford Council’s food hygiene team in September and was given a rating of ONE, meaning that ‘major improvement’ is necessary.
Among some of the issues raised during the visit was a cracked hot food screen which could have caused contamination, half of the staff not having the required food hygiene training and a need for a deep clean.
In response Baba Khan, Kitchen Manager for the Shere Khan franchises, said: “We were inspected about three or four days after we had just re-opened after two weeks of building work.
“As there was some work going on there were no food hygiene posters on site; they were all at our head office.”
He also confirmed they had requested a re-inspection which was carried out on October 11 and, despite not yet having received the official rating, the inspector was ‘quite happy and satisfied with the changes’.
It is only one of seven Shere Khan franchises in the country, which have been opened by the flagship restaurant that first opened on the Curry Mile in 1975. Incidentally this restaurant has a five star rating.
However this eagerness to improve food hygiene ratings was not shared by the fast food chain Subway which in 2011 was awarded just two stars.
Despite every establishment having the right to an instant appeal, it wasn’t until two years later that Subway was re-inspected.
A re-inspection was not carried out until October 14 and received a four star rating.
Subway Franchisee Deirdre Anderson said: “The safety and security of our customers is of paramount importance to the Subway brand.
“We have very strict procedures in place to ensure that Subway stores serve products safely and to customers’ satisfaction.”
Gourmet Burger Kitchen also has a two star rating. They declined to comment.
Gordon Mckinnon, the Regional Centre Director for intu, said: “We’re extremely disappointed that one kiosk out of our 60 plus restaurants and cafes has scored so low on the food hygiene ratings – and we expect and demand to see a quick improvement in this going forward.
“We are however delighted that the vast majority of our catering outlets scored very highly indeed, with more than 60 of them scoring very good or good.”
Image courtesy of Sloane_Jim via Flickr, with thanks.
For more on this story and many others, follow Mancunian Matters on Twitter and Facebook.
