Dirty fans used to cool food at Oxfordshire Chinese takeaway

Peking Chef on Main Street in Grove, near Wantage, was inspected by a food standards agency inspector on July 20 and was given a one out of five score.

A Freedom of Information request sent by the Oxford Mail has since found that aprons worn by their staff were “dirty” and surfaces were not being cleaned thoroughly enough.

READ MORE: Chinese takeaway hit with low food hygiene rating

Peking Chef (Image: Google Maps)

An immediate concern of the inspector was the “storing of high-risk foods at room temperature during service” and then the decision to “refrigerate any remaining food and bring it out to store at room temperature again the next day”.

The inspector warned the owner they “must ensure high risk food is stored at room temperature for a maximum of four hours” and then after this period it should “either be disposed of or refrigerated until sold”.

The inspector also gave the owner advice for cooling rice and said: “Rice can harbour bacteria which produce heat resistant toxins which cannot be killed by conventional reheating methods.

The floor inside the restaurant (Image: Vale of White Horse)

“You must ensure you cool your rice as quickly as possible and ideally within 90 minutes.”

The inspector the edges under all food preparation surfaces, the flood under the fryers in the kitchen, the floor under the microwave and the staff toilet were all dirty. 

The kitchen equipment was described as “dirty and worn” and the inspector noted that staff should be “wearing clean protective clothing while handling food to prevent the spread of bacteria and contamination”.

The inspector also found both “blood and mould” in the kitchen and the ceiling in the outside preparation kitchen was “flaking”.

The report continued: “The staff toilets are dirty and require thorough cleaning and disinfection.

“There was no hygienic drying facilities.”

The lighting in the walk-in-chiller was also described as “poor” and this was an issue as increasing the level of lightning “allows adequate cleaning and storage checks to take place”.

The owner was also told their lavatory door should not be “opened directly into a room where food was handled”.

Staff basin in the takeaway (Image: Vale of White Horse)

The inspector said: “Arrangements must be made to install a lobby between the toilet and food room.”

Issue with the temperature of foods stored in all the fridges were also raised.

The inspector's report said: “High risk foods must be stored at 8C or below.

“I recommend you place an independent thermometer inside the refrigerated display unit in the kitchen so you can include a temperature check of this unit within your daily opening checks”.

The Oxford Mail has made attempts to contact the owner for comment.