An East London Iceland has been slammed with a one-star rating after inspectors found that the supermarket’s handling of food needed “major improvement.”
The supermarket on Old Church Road in Chingford, was handed the poor food hygiene rating in December 2021.
Waltham Forest Council food safety officers inspected the premises for its handling of hygiene, condition of facilities and management of food safety.
READ MORE: ‘Dangerous’ East London supermarket slapped with £63k fine after mouse droppings found
The Food Standards Agency uses the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme to rank food businesses from zero to five – with zero indicating that urgent improvement is required, while five means that hygiene standards are very good.
Iceland is perhaps best known for selling frozen foods, as well as frozen meals and vegetables at budget-friendly prices.
The Chingford branch is one of many loved by residents near and far for the convenience of its ready meals.
Duty manager, Charlie Perry, has made a plea for locals to “come and see for themselves,” as he spoke of the cleanliness of the store.
“I’m not sure how people could ever think we are so dirty,” he told MyLondon. “Our cleaner comes in at 6am every morning.”
“She comes in and cleans the shop floor, and even cleans the freezers,” he added. “Once the shop closes, we get in another cleaner who also does the recycling.”
The East End is one of the beating hearts of the capital so here at MyLondon, we’re doing our very best to make sure you get the latest news, reviews and features from your area.
Now there’s a way you can keep up to date with the areas that matter to you with our free email newsletter.
The East London newsletter goes out twice day and sends you the latest stories straight to your inbox.
From Barking to Bow, Canning Town to Canary Wharf, we’ll make sure you get the very best every day.
To sign up to the East London newsletter, simply follow this link and select the newsletter that’s right for you.
And to really customise your news experience on the go, you can download our top-rated free apps for iPhone and Android. Find out more here.
Mr Perry suggested the Christmas rush could have contributed to the one-star rating, as the branch was inspected by Waltham Forest just four days before Christmas.
“December was quite short staffed so we may not have had many people in,” he said. “There may not have been as many staff around so some things might have slipped by us.
“But now we are up to date and we are a lot firmer on things.”
He continued: “We are a clean store and I’d tell anyone out there to come and see for themselves.”
The food safety inspector’s report stated that the following needed “major improvement”: “System or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future.”
In addition, the branch’s “hygienic handling of food including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage” all needed improvement.
Want more from MyLondon? Sign up to our daily newsletters for all the latest and greatest from across London here.
Read More
Related Articles
Read More
Related Articles
https://www.mylondon.news/whats-on/chingford-iceland-slammed-poor-hygiene-22891907
