A RESTAURANT in Christchurch town centre has been slammed by inspectors for a raft of hygiene issues – including food products more than month out of date.

High Street business EAT, which also offers takeaways, was handed a zero rating following a visit by BCP Council officers before the UK went into lockdown.

Earlier this week the local authority released the report for this inspection, which revealed a host of problems and concerns that were identified at the premises.

This included mould on products, out of date food, cleanliness issues and the food business not being registered with the council.

The food safety record report shows an environmental health officer and technical officer visited Eat.

Specific issues they found included:

  • A 600ml carton of Greek yoghurt was found in the fridge which was dated use by January 8, 2020
  • Soup, which had the appearance of tomato soup, was being stored in a two-litre container in a fridge and had mould on it
  • A jar of white asparagus in a fridge had been labelled to indicate that it had been opened on December 13, 2019. It stated on the jar to use within five days of opening
  • High risk food was being stored incorrectly in a fridge i.e raw bacon and unwashed mushrooms were on a higher shelf than ready to eat foods

The report says: “It does not appear that you have food registered the business, despite being reminded of this requirement on a previous visit.

“All food business must be registered with the local authority at least 28 days prior to starting to trade.”

“Neither the manageress nor the food handler present at the time of the inspection have received food hygiene training commensurate with their tasks,” it adds.

“The proprietor of a food business must ensure that food handlers are supervised and instructed and/or trained in food hygiene matters relevant to their work.”

The premises was inspected in early February, with the zero rating published on the Food Standards Agency website the following month.

The Daily Echo requested a copy of the report from BCP Council on March 16 and did not receive the document until earlier this week on April 14 – more than two months after the business was visited for the food hygiene inspection.

The site had previously operated as Baggies and was involved in a long-running battle with the council to extend its opening hours.