'Major improvement necessary' - New Bengal in Gosport gets food hygiene rating of 1
Gosport Indian restaurant told to improve after cleaning deemed unsatisfactory
A popular Indian restaurant in Gosport has received a food hygiene rating of one with “major improvement” deemed necessary.
New Bengal on Stoke Road was visited by food hygiene inspectors on Wednesday, August 5 where they found that the cleaning was “not at a satisfactory standard”.
When visiting eateries, inspectors judge the establishments in three areas; hygienic food handling; cleanliness and condition of facilities and building; and management of food safety. New Bengal’s management of food safety was rated as ‘major improvement necessary’ and its hygienic food handling as ‘improvement necessary’.
While its cleanliness and condition of facilities and building was deemed ‘generally satisfactory’ the report highlighted a number of issues. This included the extraction being “thick in grease” with the walls, door handles, door frames and light switches also requiring cleaning.
The sink and surrounding areas were also cited as needing cleaning with pictures showing the condition they were in. Two chopping boards were reported as being “damp and mouldy” and in need of replacement.
Fears of cross contamination were also raised by the inspectors with raw meat being held in the same buckets as ready to eat food.
The food hygiene inspected noted: “There was raw meat in black yoghurt buckets but salad was also in black and old yoghurt buckets. You have bought different buckets but staff aren't using them correctly.”
With the New Bengal not possessing a dishwasher, it was emphasised that raw and ready to eat food needed to be kept in “totally separate equipment”.
Open buckets of food were also found cooling in the storeroom with the inspector telling staff it needed to be cooled quickly, placed in the fridge and protected from contamination during the process.
The New Bengal had 21-days to appeal against the rating before it was released. The hygiene rating can be found at https://ratings.food.gov.uk/business/627586/new-bengal.