This is what safety inspectors found as they awarded The Dip Shop a food hygiene rating of zero

A Sunderland City Council food safety inspector carried out an assessment at The Dip Shop, in Maritime Street, on February 10.

Following the visit, the health officer judged the venue to have a zero star food hygiene rating.

When carrying out an inspection, a zero star rating is at the very bottom of the scale, and means “urgent improvement is required”.

Inspectors look at three main areas that include hygienic food handling, management of food safety along with cleanliness and condition of facilities and building.

This is what the environmental health officer found when inspecting The Dip Shop on February 10, 2022

Raw food stored incorrectly

The inspector detailed in their report that bacon was stored next to cooked/ready to eat foods and highlighted that it may result in cross contamination.

The food safety officer advised that the business use separate refrigerators for raw and cooked/ready to eat foods or where possible, ensure cooked/ready to eat foods are stored separately and above raw foods within the refrigerator.

The standard of cleaning was “generally poor”

The environmental health officer highlighted a poor standard of cleaning within the kitchen that included work surfaces, fryers and the floor.

It was recommended that a thorough deep clean of the kitchen was required and the fryers need to be degreased to minimise any risk of contamination of food.

The officer highlighted that the floor was dirty, especially at the floor/wall junctions and behind or below kitchen equipment.

Hygiene among staff “was inadequate”

In their report, the food safety officer said: “It was apparent during my inspection that the level of food hygiene awareness amongst your staff was inadequate.

"You must ensure that all food handlers engaged in your food business are supervised, instructed and/or trained in food hygiene matters as necessary, bearing in mind the type of work which they do.

“I would therefore advise all food handlers to complete a Level 2 course in Food Hygiene and Safety.”