The Bakery in Bembridge is the latest business to be slapped with a 1-star ‘major improvement necessary’ rating by the Isle of Wight Council’s Environmental Health team, with the general standard of hygiene found to be unsatisfactory.
Inspectors visited the High Street establishment on 5th February this year and found a number of key concerns including out of date food in the fridge, a lack of handwashing facilities, mould and broken equipment, as well as a general standard of unsatisfactory hygiene – not helped by the fact a paint brush was being used to paste food.
The bakery was last inspected on 28th July 2019 and was given an ‘improvement necessary’ rating of 2 – a significant drop from the 5-star rating given in 2014. Now, the bakery is just 1 point off receiving a 0 rating.
The lack of handwashing facilities has been highlighted as a major issue in the food safety report, with inspectors disappointed that no action had been taken to resolve the situation despite the bakery being told about the problem prior to the Environmental Health visit. Inspectors discovered there was no hot running water at the hand basin in the kitchen and no cold running water or hand drying materials at the hand basin in the bakery.
Inspectors also found that a griddle had been placed under a fan in the kitchen and that grease around the fan had dripped onto the griddle in the past, presenting a risk of contamination.
Out of date food was found in the fridges, namely cheese that was 12 dates past its ‘use by’ date. A number of sauces were also found that were not labelled with a ‘use by’ date at all.
On the paperwork side of things, it found was there was no documentation available to demonstrate the identification of hazards. Furthermore, there was no evidence that staff member ‘X’ had been provided with adequate instruction or training in food hygiene policies and practices.
Other issues found on 5th February include:
- A paint brush was being used to paste food
- 2 orange worktop boards in the bakery were badly scored and unable to be maintained in a clean condition
- The sealant behind the wash up sink was mouldy
- The doors between the toilet and the food room were left open presenting a contamination risk
- The wheels of the movable worktops in the kitchen and bakery were dirty and possibly rusty
- The inside of the bakery polar fridge was dirty
- The freezers in the outside store were mouldy/dirty
- The seals to the fridges were dirty and split presenting a risk of contamination
- The bakery ovens were cracked in some places
- Hand contact surfaces in the bakery were dirty
- There were cobwebs at height in the bakery
- The wash hand basin tap was dirty in the bakery
- The walk-in chiller floor was dirty with old food debris
- The outside store area was dirty and cluttered
- Part of the floor in the bakery was dirty
- The tap in the kitchen at the wash hand basin was loose.
- The tap in the toilet was loose
- Wooden shelving was damaged with exposed chipboard in the bakery
- There was a hole in the wall that had not been plastered near to the outside extraction fan
- The mechanical ventilation in the kitchen velocity was low
- The under counter fridge in the kitchen is being emptied of high-risk food by staff at the end of the day due to the increase in heat at certain times of the year, which effects its efficiency (temperature of fridge) due to lack of extraction
- No lighting in the walk in chiller and freezer – light was at an insufficient level to allow effective cleaning, monitoring of cleaning standards, inspection of food and pest control procedures to take place.
- There was an accumulation of redundant equipment which may provide harborage for pests
In response to the new rating, Planning Solutions Limited, owners of The Bakery, has issued a statement to Island Echo.
A spokesperson has said:
“As a Company we acknowledge that there were a number of faults found during an inspection by the environmental health department. We take these matters very seriously and have invested considerable time and effort and expense to ensure that all of the items covered in the report have been dealt with.
“There have been some personnel changes at the Bakery which appears to have caused a lapse in the normal routines. However, all of the bakery staff have recently completed training and have gained Level 2 Hygiene certificates and the new manager has achieved a Level 3 qualification.
“The Bakery is now 100% in line with the required levels of maintenance and repair and we shall be seeking a reinspection as soon as we are able to do so”.
Food Hygiene Rating – Scores on the Doors
Compliance with food hygiene and safety procedures – 10
Compliance with structural requirements – 20
Confidence in management/control procedures – 20
Total score: 50 (1 rating)
They should be ashamed of them selves, there is no excuse for being dirty, I won’t be buying bread or anything else from them again
Bembridge, who would have thought it?
Changing the adage to ‘Where there is money, there is muck’
Top prices but disgusting hygeine practices.
May have been easier too say if anything was OK !!!!!!
I would never eat anything where a food place had been marked so low…..
No 2nd chance in this Situation ..
Can’t understand how why they didn’t notice all the problems and rectify them ?????
Dirt is dirt ….
I fail to see why any establishment with a hygiene rating below 4 is allowed to continue operatingwithout enforcement of improvements.
The rating system is toothless, it its not even a requirement to display the rating if they choose not to !!!!
The whole system needs revising.
Beggars belief.
Best eat at home!!!!
I very rarely eat out due to the fact so many establishment’s don’t
Come up to standard …
They blame it on training but for goodness sake use their eyes….
Clean as you go whistle whilst you work …
If you are fed up at work clean and clean again ..
Would you eat where you work?????
If you are not happy with your training say so !!!!
Why give paying customers food poisoning or worse….
Is it because we are a tourist island and who cares ????
They won’t be back again????
No excuse for hygiene not being observed !!!!
Yes, eat at home, my delicate little flower. Wouldn’t want to upset your pressures little tummy now.
The reason that you don’t go out to eat, is because you ain’t got no one to go with.
I’ll take you out, nice greasy kabab,
My treat. x
My sentiments for many years. To be allowed to continue to trade is putting the health of customers at risk. If the rating is less than four- then lock the door.
I brought a Cake from there and it was only half cooked. Grotesque
They should take a look at the practises of the Batley bakers in Yorkshire. Never less than first class. Worldwide championship food producers and, as Bembridge parish Council will attest, the fine producers of Fox’s Biscuits. Other comestibles are available. Sadly other councils are not….
How can the owners say they are taking this very seriously. Back in 2019 the were told improvement needed. They chose to not bother at the cost of customers being exposed to poor hygiene standards. Lovely customer service
“we take these matters very seriously” – clearly a total lie given the previous poor rating. I was there recently and had a below average cake/tea etc. I wont bother going again. Remember folks, these people have you health directly in their (not very clean due to lack of facilities) hands.
Only visited there a couple of times, and haven’t been impressed with either the food or the woman who served at the till – very offish. Vote with your feet and maybe they will learn that normal routines can’t lapse when you are dealing with food preparation and cooking!
Love the company speak too “The Bakery is now 100% in line with the required levels of maintenance and repair and we shall be seeking a reinspection as soon as we are able to do so”
So, after being caught out, they are now abiding by the rules!
One wonders how the Butchers in the village manage, with only a rusting tin shed, outside toilet and rat traps to keep the wolf of H & S inspectors at bay.
They must be doing the right thing, perhaps they could give lessons to the pub and bakery in the village of poor hygeine?
Their prices were too high in the first place, will never go to this over priced place disgusting!
We visited once last year whilst on holiday in Bembridge and found it less than impressive but very high prices. We didn`t return, nor will we later this year when we come back to Bembridge on holiday.