Cafe fridge had out-of-date food, inspectors find

Rapp's, in Saltburn, has since rectified the issues, its owner says

A brasserie had out-of-date ingredients in a fridge while there were also mouldy surfaces in an ice machine, an inspection found.

Rapp's, in Saltburn, was given a "2" food hygiene rating - meaning improvement necessary - following a visit from a Redcar and Cleveland Council officer last month.

While the cleanliness and condition of the premises was declared to be "good", a number of issues were identified elsewhere.

Greg Beaty, who has run the cafe and adjoining bar for nearly 20 years, said he had been "gutted" by the findings and had since "rectified everything" in time for a follow-up visit by inspectors two weeks later.

However, re-rating could take up to three months, he added.

The Food Standards Agency's scale sees "0" being the worst rating and "5" the best.

'Long hours'

Pepperoni, feta cheese and sun blush tomato, which had been open and stored in a fridge, were said to be past their sell-by date.

High-risk food contact surfaces were not being adequately disinfected, as per the manufacturer's instructions, and water at a basin was deemed to be too hot to be comfortably used for staff handwashing.

A letter issued by the council to Mr Beaty and shared with the Local Democracy Reporting Service also highlighted a plastic mixing bowl which was broken, presenting a risk of contamination.

Some food safety procedures were also not being followed and documentation required to be in place was missing.

A diary kept to detail checks being made each day on opening and closing the business was missing dates throughout September.

In some instances checks had been declared as complete, but in fact had not been fully completed, while staff training records were also incomplete.

The report warned effective monitoring "was not being carried out at critical points" and that staff "must also be supervised and checked" to ensure controls were implemented.

Mr Beaty said he "held his hands up" over the record keeping: "We work long, hard hours, we serve breakfast, lunch and dinner so we are open all day.

"We've reduced the hours to allow allocated time to make sure all the records are being done properly."