A TAKEAWAY was told it needs to ‘urgently improve’ after mouldy chopping boards, ants, and dirty cloths and overclothes were discovered by inspectors.

Representatives from the Food Standards Agency visited Star Kebab on Winwick Street on March 4.

Following their visit, they issued the eatery with an abysmal food hygiene rating of zero.

However it should be noted that since this visit, the ownership of the business has changed and the new takeaway trading from this address is awaiting inspection.

The full food hygiene report for Star Kebab, which the zero star rating is based on, has now been obtained by the Warrington Guardian following a Freedom of Information request.

Within the report, a list of findings are revealed which inspectors say are legal requirement and must be dealt with as soon as possible.

They are split into different sections, with the first being ‘food hygiene and safety’.

Under this category, a number of issues were noted, including that the lavatory opened directly into the room where food was being handled and prepared. Inspectors said that arrangements must be made not to use this room for food handling, or alternatively, a lobby between the toilet and food room must be installed.

It was also noted that clothing worn by staff working in the kitchen was dirty, that the area around the food preparation surface was dirty, that some high risk food was being stored at an incorrect temperature, and that specific equipment and utensils were dirty.

The next list of findings is under the ‘structure and cleaning’ category.

Here, inspectors noted that the floor throughout the premises was dirty, that ants were in the rear room, that dirty wiping cloths were being used to clean down utensils, and that raw meat was being stored above and next to cooked/ready to eat foods.

Inspectors also said that the standard of cleaning to the structure of work surfaces was generally poor and that a thorough deep clean and disinfection was required.

Other significant findings by the FSA were that evidence of smoking was noted in the rear room, that live wires were spotted in the near room which is a risk of electrocution, and that no food safety management documents were available on site at the time of inspection.

The FSA said that urgent improvement is necessary in the takeaway’s management of food safety, while improvement is necessary in the other two categories.

All information is provided by Warrington Borough Council and is accurate at the time of writing.