TAKEAWAY bosses said it had been awarded a new four-star hygiene rating after an inspector previously rated it one-star.

An inspection of Barrow Takeaway from the Food Standards Agency on May 20 resulted in an environmental health officer telling the business that ‘urgent improvements’ were required.

Barrow Takeaway says it has now undergone a re-inspection and has been given a four-star rating by the agency.

The agency’s website says it has been recently inspected and a new rating will be published soon.

According to a report, obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service via a Freedom of Information Request, a ‘significant’ quantity of high-risk foods including meat, vegetables, rice and sauces were stored at room temperature at the Bath Street takeaway.

The report states: “When tested with a probe thermometer your rice displayed a core temperature of 17.6°C and chicken displayed a core temperature of 15°C. These foods are high-risk and will support the growth of food poisoning bacteria and/or their toxins and must be kept at or below 8°C.”

The report added the internal surfaces of refrigerators and shelves were ‘dirty’ creating a risk of contamination.

Included in the report were details of how the electric fly killer had a ‘large build up’ of flies at the time of inspection.

The report says: “Because of this, dead flies were observed to be accumulating beneath the fly killer on a shelf where equipment was stored. This creates a significant risk of contamination.”

Environmental health also raised concerns regarding the build-up of food debris and residue in the hand wash basin.

“At the time of my inspection the bowl of your wash hand basin had a build-up of food debris and residue, including noodles and chillies. The basin was not readily accessible due to a hand brush stored inside”, the report added.

The report from the council also criticised the maintenance of accurate records on the site.

It states: “When viewing the opening and closing checks records, it was noted that your opening checks were complete until Saturday 25th May 2024 despite the inspection taking place on Monday 20th May 2024. As well as this, every historic record was marked stating that checks were being carried out.

“Due to the significant number of legal contraventions above it is clear that these records are not being used appropriately and are not a true reflection of the business’s operation. You must ensure that your records are accurate and the checks you carry out are appropriate and recorded accurately, with any issues you identified recorded and resolved.”