Shorwell Village Store voluntarily stopped selling food and closed its preparation area for 48 hours after a damning hygiene inspection meant a ‘full deep clean’ was necessary.
As previously reported by Island Echo, the Village Store was inspected by the Isle of Wight Council’s Environmental Health department in September and received a 0 out of 5 food hygiene rating — the worst possible — requiring ‘urgent improvement’.
Action has been, or is being, taken to solve all the problems, said a spokesperson for Shorwell Village Store, which has since reopened the food preparation area.
Overall, general hygiene standards were poor, inspectors said. They found a dirty microwave, oven, doughnut storage display unit, slush solution container, cutlery container, tea towel container and worktops.
Inspectors photographed slug trails in the lobby, food preparation area and shop. The shop floor was also dirty and dusty, with cobwebs, they said.
Regulatory officers also found the store was buying meat products from an unnamed company, repackaging them under the Shorwell Store name — without permission and with insufficient information on the packaging — and reselling them.
Areas of paint were flaking off the wall in the food preparation area, which inspectors said needed to be redecorated within a month.
Checks to ensure food was being thoroughly cooked to an acceptable temperature, to destroy food poisoning bacteria, were not being done properly. Probes showed food was being cooked to 72c, but was not being not monitored for the required time.
There was no convenient hand wash basin in the food preparation area, with the nearest in the lobby, also used by those who had just been to the toilet and there was no hot running water.
The spokesperson said when inspectors returned, 2 days later, they were happy with the improvements and standards of hygiene and staff have now fully updated their training on food standards and hygiene.
And further 2 days later, back to the old state. Old habits die hard.
Village stores are always struggling against large stores, and anyone with any sense would ensure perfect hygeine, as face it, they have plenty of time to clean up between customers.
Avoid imo.
Lots of people were very pleased that someone took over these premises when the previous owners left.But to score a 0 out of 5 food hygiene rating is disgraceful,and then to repackage meats ect probably brought from the likes of Aldi or Lidl re package them , and sell them for a profit is criminal.
I would not trust a business that ‘Regulatory officers also found the store was buying meat products from an unnamed company, repackaging them under the Shorwell Store name — without permission and with insufficient information on the packaging — and reselling them’. That is underhand and misleading people who think they are buying genuine local produce to support a local business, disgusting!
Totally agree, can’t see this business lasting long now they been caught out .
i certainly wouldn’t stop by there