A Bolton nursery school has been slapped with a one star food hygiene rating after inspectors discovered it was storing raw mince next to ice-cream.
Alexandra Nursery School for under 3s in Daubhill were branded with a ‘major improvement necessary’ stamp by the Food Standards Agency following their visit earlier this year.
The report stated cross contamination could be possible due to ready to eat food and raw food being stored incorrectly. Outdoor clothing was also being kept in the kitchen and there was no soap at the hand wash basin.
The report, by food standards officer Gill Patel, said: “I was informed that as a temporary measure hand washing is being undertaken using the toilet facilities however this was not acceptable.”
According to the nursery school’s website, it prides itself on promoting ‘healthy eating’, but the damning report showed that standards were not being met.
There was also no evidence to show temperatures were being recorded or monitored and that food handlers in the kitchen are not trained in the kitchens food safety management procedure.
Head teacher Barbara Kenny has reassured parents that the issues have already been addressed and blamed the report on agency staff not following kitchen rules.
She said: “There were problems that arose through using agency cooks who didn’t follow procedures or guidelines that were in place.
“A member of staff is monitoring the kitchen daily to ensure that the cook follows the required guidelines and we will be appointing our own cook during the summer.
“We have a new kitchen which hadn’t been fully completed at the time of the last inspection -all the areas identified have been addressed, new equipment bought and we are awaiting an inspection any time which we are sure will give us a high rating.”
