Birmingham German Christmas market stalls fail hygiene checks

The event was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic

Nearly half of the food and drink stalls at a Christmas market failed its initial hygiene inspection, a council said.

Out of the 39 stalls at Birmingham's German market, 22 passed, while the remaining 17 had "minor issues" which were resolved.

Environmental Health officers visited the stalls on 4 November, before the market opened to the public.

The majority of the minor issues were resolved later that day.

The issues were "around pest proofing, paperwork, allergen information and temperature control," a council spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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"Three remaining premises were revisited for allergen labelling / pre-packed for direct sale (PPDS) matters - which is covered by new legislation only applicable in the UK, so some businesses were unprepared.

"These were resolved either by labelling or removing PPDS products from sale," it added.

There are about a third fewer stalls at this year's market than in previous years, with Covid meaning that there are 56 stalls in totally at this year's event compared to more than 80 in 2019.