Local catering company heavily criticised by food hygiene inspectors

A catering firm has been slated by inspectors over filthy conditions and poor practices.

At Nova the Outsiders, which has a unit at Croft Business Park in Bromborough, smoked salmon which was 29 days past its use by date was found by inspectors.

This was not the only item of out of date food at the caterers, which provides food for weddings and corporate events.

A salted caramel cinder toffee cream slice which was 28 days past its best before date was also found at the site.

Findings such as this meant Nova was given a zero star food hygiene rating after the inspection, which was carried out on December 15 last year.

The report was seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service after a Freedom of Information request was sent to Wirral Council.

It is understood that the firm has requested a revisit.

The most shocking of the findings, which led council inspectors to conclude the premises presented an "imminent risk of injury to health", was the out of date food.

The inspector's report read: "An open packet of smoked salmon was found in the walk-in chiller with a use by date of 16th November 2020.

"There was no labelling on the product to indicate it had been previously frozen and defrosted.

"The smoked salmon was therefore 29 days past its use by date."

It was a similar story with the toffee cream slice, which had a best before date of November 17, just one day later.

Uncovered turmeric mix was another problem at Nova's.

The report added: "The lids on jars of products such as jalapenos and artichokes were dirty; product wrapping, such as clingfilm, felt greasy and wet; a container of turmeric mix was uncovered and had dried out to leave a crusty mixture."

Other major hygiene concerns were that the tops of flour sacks were "littered with food debris" and a meat slicer was "encrusted with debris".

A chaotic picture was painted as the report elaborated on the catering firm's storage practices.

The document read: "Foodstuffs had been piled on top of each other; food wrapping materials had become dislodged leaving foodstuffs uncovered; raw and cooked foods were stored in contact with each other."

The walls were also unclean, with inspectors noticing that at lower levels cobwebs, dirt and food debris were all present.

The firm's approach to vacuum packing was one of the most concerning things in the report.

As well as being littered with food debris, none of the vacuum-packed foods had labels for when they should be used by and most lacked a label for what they contained.

Foods packed in this way included raw pork joints, sauces, duck legs, stuffing mix, bolognese mix and sea bass.

Inspectors saw the serious issue this caused.

The document continued: "There was a gastro tray of vacuum-packed sauces in the walk-in chiller in which the chef was unable to identify the contents."

But thankfully all unlabelled vacuum-packed products were thrown away during the visit.

As well as the nature of the problems, inspectors picked up on the fact that some of them were longstanding.

The report added: "Many of the issues detailed in this letter, both in the category of food hygiene and safety and structure (including cleaning), were also highlighted at the time of your last inspection in June 2019.

"Even if conditions temporarily improved immediately following the inspection of June 2019, the conditions found at the time of this inspection demonstrate that you have been unable to maintain any improvements that had been made.

"It was also concerning to note, that due to the manner in which inspections are currently being conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, that the timing of this inspection was actually anticipated by you as a business."

Nova the Outsiders was contacted by the LDRS, but did not wish to comment.