AMERICAN-STYLE comfort food chain Dirty Bones has been told to improve food hygiene at its newest restaurant in Oxford’s Westgate Centre after health inspectors found staff using the same equipment to pack raw and cooked meats.

The chain, which opened the venue –its first restaurant outside of London – in December, was given a two-star food hygiene rating following a visit from Environmental Health Officers.

The inspector visited the venue, located on the Westgate Centre roof terrace, five days after its opening and said he was ‘concerned’ by serious risks of food contamination.

Bosses at the trendy cocktail and food firm put the poor hygiene rating down to 'teething problems' and confirmed a full review of food safety standards had since been carried out.

During the inspection the health officer found a vacuum packer was being used to pack both raw and cooked meats, presenting a possibility of cross contamination, while staff were not clear on the purpose of, nor how to correctly use, the kitchen’s water bath.

The restaurant’s food safety management procedures were deemed to be ‘insufficient’ by the inspectors.

Health officers concluded there was a failure by management to identify potential food safety hazards, as well as a failure to identify where things could ‘go wrong’ in the food preparation process.

Commenting on the day to day management of the restaurant the report states: “It was concerning to note serious risks of cross contamination on site and also that staff and management shared different views about food safety matters.”

A Dirty Bones spokesperson told the Oxford Mail: “We were inspected by the local Environmental Health Officer (EHO) very early into our opening.

“We have since had a full review of our food safety standards and are working closely with a food safety consultancy agency (Food Alert) to ensure that we have the highest possible standards of food safety.

“We have invited the local EHO in to re-inspect and are confident we will obtain five stars.”

Specialising in BBQ meats and hot dogs, Dirty Bones, which claims to offer a ‘New York City-inspired food and cocktail concept’, opened its first location in Kensington, London, three years ago and has since expanded to Carnaby, Shoreditch and Soho.

The Oxford Mail did not get a reply from the restaurant chain on whether the two star rating had prompted a review of food hygiene at its other restaurants before going to press.