'Mouldy sauce' found at zero star Oxford pizza takeaway

Oxford Pizza N Grill on Cowley Road was given a zero star hygiene rating when inspectors visited the takeaway shop on 31 January.

A Freedom of Information request has found the pizza takeaway kept a “container of mouldy sauce with a day dot sticker” in the walk in chiller at the time of the inspector’s visit.

READ MORE: Oxford pizza takeaway given zero food hygiene rating

The inspector also found that food kept in the fridge was not clearly labelled with use by dates and food was found on the “floor in both the walk in chiller and freezer”.

Pizza takeaway shop from the outside (Image: Ed Halford)

Worryingly, the inspector also revealed in their report that cooked chicken was not being stored correctly.

They highlighted that cooked chicken was being stored at temperatures between 30C and 50C when it was important that “food that has been cooked and is being hot held must always be kept at a temperature of 63C or above”.

The inspector also raised concerns about the staff’s experience.

They said: “The member of staff on duty was unaware of either the safe core cooking temperature for meat, such as chicken, or the safe hot holding temperature for cooked foods.”

The inspector also found there was no soap available for staff to use at the hand wash basin in the preparation area.

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The lid for one of the plastic containers in the kitchen, which was used to marinade raw chicken thighs and legs, was breaking up and the inspector said the lid needed to be replaced to “avoid contamination”.

Lastly, the inspector pointed out that the takeaway shop had an open drain between the back of the premises and the walk in chiller.

They advised fitting a grate to the drain to “reduce the risk of rodents coming up through the drain and causing infestation”.

The takeaway shop was told that their food hygiene required “major improvement necessary”.