A popular Leicestershire Indian takeaway and restaurant has received the lowest possible score after inspectors found food was being stored on the floor and a lack of soap at the kitchen sinks.

Bombay Bistro on High Street, Ibstock, was given a zero out of five hygiene score by North West Leicestershire District Council food inspectors after a visit on March 3.

One of the biggest concerns, which inspectors called "dangerous", was that kitchen staff were routinely using a handheld wand gas lighter to light the tandoori oven because the built-in ignition switch was broken – with food bosses saying there was a "significant risk of explosion or serious burns".

During the visit, inspectors also saw staff eating before returning to the kitchen to prepare food, without washing their hands in between, and found that there was no soap at the sinks in the front or rear kitchen, forcing them to request that soap be added to the basins.

Council inspectors also called it "concerning" when a member of staff demonstrated cleaning practices with "two different, very heavily soiled and greasy bottles with very worn labels, which were illegible" and "close to being empty".

Inspectors also found a "filthy" can-opener blade, "dirty" aprons while staff worked, a "dirty" microwave interior and door handles, while a "dirty" lidded container was being used to store lettuce in water in the fridge.

There were also severe cross-contamination concerns where raw marinating chicken was found sitting directly on top of a container of cooked rice, while raw minced chicken was stored right next to ready-to-eat mint yoghurt dressing.

Food was also being stored on the floor, with open containers of peeled onions found in the kitchen, while inspectors also found that a bug zapper was "full of dead insects".

advertisement

Concerns were raised about the takeaway's interior, with inspectors noting "broken and cracked tiles and edging trim" and chefs using copper wire to repair a deep-fat fryer basket, which inspectors said posed a "risk of…coming loose and contaminating food".

They also found that staff had "inadequate training in food safety knowledge" and "had not received allergen-specific training and there was an inadequate understanding of allergen management".

Inspectors had concerns after finding one dish had no allergens listed, despite having three, and that the takeaway menu didn't have any allergen information listed on it.

The takeaway received a 55 out of 80 on its food hygiene score by inspectors, with higher scores indicating worse hygiene.

A member of the team at Bombay Bistro told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he had addressed the concerns raised by inspectors, including investing "£12,000" in refurbishing the restaurant and providing specialist training to staff.

He also said that inspectors arrived on the day many of his staff had broken fast for Ramadan, explaining why staff were found eating, and that a communication breakdown was why inspectors were incorrectly shown how they clean and disinfect work surfaces.

The team member also claimed that inspectors had since come back to the restaurant and were "impressed" by the changes made.

He added: "We've never had any complaints from any customers regarding anyone falling ill or anything like that.

advertisement

"When the environmental health officer came, it was a member of staff's night off, and I couldn't be here to speak to environmental health.

"We've always kept it clean and tidy. I'm very proud of my business, and my customers also say they are impressed with what we've done since inspectors came".