Brotton San Mariono’s takeaway given one-star food hygiene rating

The unannounced inspection of San Marino’s Pizzeria, in High Street, Brotton, resulted in the business being handed a ‘1’ rating by the Food Standards Agency – zero being the lowest and five the highest.

Management of food safety and hygienic food handling were assessed as requiring major improvement and ‘improvement necessary’ respectively, although a third category – cleanliness and condition of the building was rated ‘good’.

An inspector from Redcar and Cleveland Council’s food safety team said disinfectant or sanitiser was not available for immediate use on food contact surfaces and equipment which meant high risk areas were not being adequately cleaned.

The report letter, obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, remarked: “The manager was sent to the shop and a ready to use sanitiser was immediately purchased.

“At the same time, the other staff member went to the car and brought back a bottle of Dettol.”

A floor covering at the takeaway was said to be damaged in various places and not being effectively cleaned, while a sealant surrounding a handwash basin was in a poor state of repair leading to an uneven surface preventing effective cleaning.

A combination of washing up liquid and bleach were being used to clean floor surfaces which the inspector said made them “extremely slippery throughout” – dangerously so – with a direction being issued that suitable cleaning chemicals were used.

The report letter also highlighted how a refuse bin in a food preparation area did not have a foot pedal mechanism which created a cross contamination risk in terms of staff hand hygiene.

Meanwhile, a plastic internal door cover on a chest freezer was damaged and the door seal was also dirty.

The report letter suggested that staff had not been carrying out simple opening/closing checks at the start and end of their shift and records of these were not dated.

It also said: “Effective monitoring was not being carried out at critical points of your operation, as demonstrated.

“You must ensure that all critical points are monitored, and any non-compliances are remedied.”

The inspector also picked up on a “false and misleading” description given to one item – ‘Halal sliced pepperoni’, which contained turkey and beef, which could potentially mislead customers.

Some items identified as a cause of non-compliance with food hygiene regulations were requested to be addressed immediately by the premises, which has been contacted for comment, others within 14 to 28 days.