A hygiene improvement notice has been served to the Metropole Hotel following a Food Standard Agency Inspection during which the Britannia owned hotel received ‘1’ – Major Improvement Necessary. The report was headlined by major issues with food hygiene and safety. The measures which the Metropole Hotel now need to comply with follow the findings described by the Inspectors in the published report and must involve cleaning and disinfecting the identified areas.

In the report, Inspectors noted dirt in many areas of the kitchen and restaurant including dirt on a fridge, a freezer, a walk-in freezer, the kitchen radio, the soap dispenser and the can opener. They found dirt on the doors leading from the kitchen to the restaurant, the outside of the water urns, crates in the hot drinks area, on the floor of downstairs, underside of a hand towel dispenser and on taps to a hand wash basin.

Food debris was found in the cutlery drawers, on the stairs and accumulated on a unused trolley downstairs.

The report also described a significant pooling of water on the floor in the pot wash area and the additional restaurant being used for staff meals had not been cleaned down after use.

At the time of the visit, there was no allergen information for any food in the restaurant. Regulations require the hotel to examine food items and identify those which contain allergens and provide accurate information and food labels if requested.