A pizza shop in Oxford has cobwebs on the walls and was cross-contaminating food

Pizza Roma on Cowley Road was inspected by Oxford City Council’s Environmental Health team on Wednesday, February 7.

Inspectors were severely unimpressed with what they found stating that ‘major improvement’ was necessary and handing the takeaway a one-out-of-five hygiene rating.

The Oxford Mail obtained a copy of the full hygiene report via a Freedom of Information request and discovered the shocking details inside.

Oxford Mail: Pizza Roma is located on Cowley Road.Pizza Roma is located on Cowley Road. (Image: Newsquest)

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One major cause of concern for the visiting inspector was the possible cross-contamination of food at the eatery.

“At the time of the inspection the tongs for the salad were in a position where the handle was in the food causing cross-contamination,” read the report.

“Ensure tongs are stored in a position where the handle does not touch the food.

“When asked the second member of staff, not the pizza chef, informed me that he did the cooking of the non-pizza items.

“He informed me that he knew the chicken was cooked when a fork went through it. A fork going through food is not a suitable method of checking to see if food is cooked.”

Oxford Mail: Webs were found inside of the kitchen.Webs were found inside of the kitchen. (Image: Unsplash)

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The inspector then discovered cobwebs inside the kitchen and found that staff were using expired hand sanitiser.

“There were cobwebs on the wall in the corner above the chest freezer which again shows the standard of cleaning is not good enough,” continued the damning report.

“Improve the standard of cleaning throughout.

“The sanitiser provided to me did not conform to a British Standard and had also expired in September 2023 which would indicate a sanitiser is not being used on a regular basis.

“To correctly clean you should first wash with detergent and then spray with a sanitiser that conforms to a British Standard code.

“Various touch points (light switches, plugs, door handles) were dirty so ensure these areas are considered when carrying out the cleaning.”

Oxford Mail: Pizza Roma was previously rated five-out-of-five.Pizza Roma was previously rated five-out-of-five. (Image: Google Maps)

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Paperwork also really let Pizza Roma down with the inspection revealing that staff were not aware of crucial checks.

“As at the previous inspection, the written food safety management system or HACCP was not available to view and neither of the staff were even aware of it.

“There were no written daily checks available to view and the staff were not aware of any.

“It is a legal requirement to carry out certain checks as part of the written food safety management system or HACCP and to record these checks have been carried out.”

The Oxford Mail has approached Pizza Roma for further comment on the report.