3 weeks Ago
A Brighton branch of a national restaurant chain ignored warnings about mouse faeces in its kitchen. The Bill's restaurant in North Road was given a two-star food hygiene rating after an inspection on January 22. The restaurant has since been reinspected and received a five, the highest hygiene rating.
The full report from the inspection on January 22, obtained by The Argus through a Freedom of Information request, said "mice droppings were found at two corner points in the kitchen". The inspector noted that these issues had been pointed out to the restaurant by a pest contractor two days earlier. It was also noted that "pest activity was not managed, and actions had not been carried out by kitchen staff".
"Daily logs did not highlight the issues found", the inspector wrote. As well as this, raw chicken was found to have been stored above ready-to-eat smoked salmon. Read next: New Ikea store takes step forward as latest plans receive approval The floor of the basement was also "not in good repair, nor made of appropriate material to be able to keep it well maintained".
The inspector said: "I am concerned that management processes have failed. "These need to be reviewed and staff retrained on processes to follow when issues are found. "It is vital that daily checks are completed and thorough cleaning carried out to prevent infestations.
" A spokesman for Bill's said after the January inspection: "Following the recent inspection, we are working closely with the local authority and are confident that the actions have been taken to return to our previous five-star rating." The restaurant was reinspected on April 4 and did indeed receive a five-star rating. Read next: Pub in Brighton to sell £1.
80 pints of beer all Easter bank holiday weekend The food hygiene assessment is based on three categories: hygienic food handling, management of food safety, and the cleanliness and condition of facilities. According to the Food Standards Agency, a rating of five means that "hygiene standards are very good". Bill's is a British restaurant and bar chain, founded by Bill Collison in 2001 when he opened a small greengrocery in Lewes.
There are currently around 50 Bill's restaurants in the UK..
