Chesterfield's 'least hygienic' takeaway improves rating

The Chinese takeaway had previously been given the lowest possible food hygiene rating score and, as a result, was the ‘least hygienic’ takeaway inspected by Chesterfield Borough Council.

Inspectors revisited the premises in April, six months after giving it a hygiene rating of zero out of five, and found improvements had been made.

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After rating Peking Palace across three criteria – compliance with food hygiene and safety procedures, structural requirements, and management / control procedures – inspectors upgraded the takeaway to a rating of three out of five.

However they still identified contraventions of the Food Safety Act 1990 and highlighted that enforcement action would be taken if the matters weren’t addressed within a specified time frame.

They breaches identified were; chopping boards currently only washed between uses with hot soapy water and not with an anti-bacterial cleaning chemical; the probe thermometer not being cleaned an disinfected before being inserted into food items; a cleaning cloth that posed the risk of contamination in the rear preparation room; food being stored in carrier bags in the freezer as opposed to food-grade bags, and; raw vegetables being prepared on a ready to eat chopping board and not a specific raw food chopping board.

Structural concerns were also raised regarding the use of cardboard to cover the floors, storage of food items in domestic areas, and the lack of availability of hot water in the staff toilet.

The inspector issued the following recommendations:

1. I strongly recommend that the pre-prepared food in the freezer be labelled with the date of production and the date which it must be used by.
2. I strongly recommend that the redundant and unused items in the rear yard be disposed of to assist cleaning and pest control.
3. You are currently using a CIF anti-bacterial cleaning chemical which has a contact time of 15 minutes. I strongly recommend that you use an anti-bacterial cleaner with a shorter contact time.

The takeaway currently has a rating of 3.5 out of 5 on Google Reviews and is open 5pm until 10pm everyday except for Tuesdays.