Union Kitchen Receives 2/5 Food Hygiene Rating

The Union kitchen has received a low 2-out-of-5 rating for their food hygiene, after an inspection by a local council Environmental Health Officer (EHO) took place on August 23rd.

The areas assessed were hygienic food handling, cleanliness and condition of facilities, and management of food safety. While the latter two were considered “generally satisfactory”, the hygienic food handling was described with “improvement necessary” and influenced the low overall score.

The officer found mice within the Union bar and cockroaches in the kitchen, which were gaining access via gaps and cracks in the building as a result of age. Despite the pest problems highlighted in the report, the Union has stressed that this was not the cause of the kitchen closure, which was instead related to electrical faults.

Other issues highlighted during the inspection are currently unknown, though Felix should obtain the report written by the officer in the coming days.

Julia Mattingley, the Head of Commercial Services at the Union, clarified that some of the issues raised in the report were not fully valid – criticisms that were levied had, in fact, already been addressed, but could not be evidenced at the time. The EHO was accompanied during the inspection by an agency-hired interim Head Chef, covering for a long period of sickness on behalf of the permanent Head Chef, and a permanent member of Union staff. Both have now left the Union. The interim Head Chef was apparently unaware of certain processes that had been established, for which the Union was marked down – inaccurately, they claim.

The unfit state of the kitchen is, Julia said, partially down to dependence on agency staff – describing some of the interim Head Chefs that have been in place as “downright unsuitable”, and noting that even in the case that they are not, agency staff are often transient.

“We have had some really fantastic and hard-working agency staff and similarly we have had some very poor agency staff who didn’t care much and didn’t control things in the way that we would have liked. This, unfortunately, can be the attitude of some transient workers who are here today and gone tomorrow.

The level of accountability from an agency chef can be different from a permanent member of staff as there is nothing to stop the agency worker leaving and not coming back at any point.”

The Union is taking extensive action to rectify the raised issues, both with regards to the EHO inspection and the electrical faults. In both cases, they are working closely with the College’s Estates division, as building infrastructure maintenance falls under their remit.

A deep clean of the space and the organisation of regular visits by Rentokil – pest exterminators – is being organised, as well as a large-scale project to plug the various gaps in the building that were allowing access. Currently, most of those in the bar area have already been tackled.

With regard to the electrical faults which caused the kitchen closure, specific details have been revealed. The circuit board could not carry the full electrical load of the set of appliances being used in the kitchen, thus activating the trip switches – which, across the circuit board, were only described with unclear or outdated labelling. The labelling is now being renewed.

Additionally, all the equipment is now receiving tests from the Estates teams to ensure their electrical safety – however, the heaviest-duty appliances need specialist equipment to test, extending the length of the process. Additionally, the overall provision of electrical infrastructure is being assessed, including testing sockets to ensure they work, checking that there are enough sockets to appropriately handle the amount of equipment being used, and that they are located in safe places around the kitchen.

On the administrative and staffing side, refresher training is being delivered to staff, staff records are being updated, and assessments of health and safety paperwork are being conducted.

The extent of these assessments means that the Union kitchen will be closed for the remainder of term, but Julia stresses the importance of ensuring everything is fully up-to-scratch before returning to business. “Unfortunately this is not a five minute job and we need to ensure that everything is done properly before reopening.”