A POPULAR café in Deganwy that was rated one for food hygiene was found to have “droppings” from pests in food areas, with several areas described as “dirty”.

The Olive Grove, at 81 Station Road, was inspected on January 29 and given a one-out-of-five score with “major improvement necessary”.

A Freedom of Information request made to Conwy County Borough Council revealed that the business had failed to adhere to food hygiene regulations in 19 instances.

Droppings were found in a food storage cupboard in the kitchen, with evidence of pest activity apparent from more droppings in the food storage room.

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The report added the business had voluntarily agreed to close the until no further activity was noted.

The hygiene inspector’s report noted that there was a “significantly varying record of compliance”, adding the café had a “poor appreciation of hazards and control measures”, “no food safety management procedures” and “some reluctance in recognising or accepting the need for food safety and hygiene control procedures”.

It said that cleaning standards were “generally poor”, with hand touch areas such as light switches, sockets, taps, fridge door handles, and a lid to a saladette, as well as some kitchen appliances, called “dirty”.

The report highlighted contamination concerns, given the condition and placement of some utensils.

The inspector also said the level of food hygiene awareness amongst staff was “inadequate”, and called on the café to retrain its staff on cleaning procedures.

The standards of hygiene at the premises were “unsatisfactory”, with three recommendations for improvement made:

  1. I recommend scheduling regular calibration checks for the probe thermometer used to take temperatures of your foods
  2. I recommended that a manager/food business operator audits/reviews the cleaning schedule and sign it off on a regular basis (this person should be different to the staff member that completed the cleaning schedule)
  3. You are advised to review the training needs of your staff on a regular basis. Refresher or update training should be provided where necessary