A fried chicken takeaway given a damning food hygiene rating has hit back at Leeds City Council.
Chicken Hut in Hunslet was told to clean multiple “dirty” areas and was given a one-star food hygiene rating – the second lowest rating, meaning 'major improvements' were necessary.
But the manager Bakhtyar A Rahman has hit back at the council, claiming his team would have received three stars (meaning 'generally satisfactory') if it wasn’t for lack of paper work.
For the latest coverage on Leeds takeaways, click here
Bakhtyar has complained the rating system adds extra “pressure to small businesses” who can’t afford to pay for someone to write the required paperwork, unlike fast-food goliaths McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King.
Inspectors told Bakhtyar to “remove dirty sponges”, clean door handles, the floor, shelving, the bin area, stairs, freezers and hand contact surfaces.
They also recommended he bring in pest control after viewing the takeaway in Dewsbury Road on August 21.
Inspectors also ordered him to stop using the wash hand basin to store equipment and scrap food and to provide an “adequate supply of paper towels” for staff to dry their hands with.
They also said staff should be wearing aprons while they work.
Bakhtyar admits inspectors found some valid issues, but he was unhappy how they marked Chicken Hut further down due to lack of paperwork. Inspectors told them they should have the necessary documentation explaining how they prepare food safely and should train all food handlers regularly.
Bakhtyar, who has managed the takeaway for the two years it’s been open, said: “The day they came to shop, I was not around and the paperwork was not there. What you do on a daily basis, anything, you have to write it down on a piece of paper.
"Big businesses like McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King, the big companies can have somebody who’s just responsible for paper work.
Enter your postcode to check food hygiene ratings near you
“But in a small shop, you can’t afford to do that. So they wanted us to write down every single day what we are doing in the shop and that’s very hard for a small shop to do.”
“Writing things down is a good thing but the main thing is that you see the shop is clean. How you prepare food, how we serve the customers and how things are going in a hygienic way.”
A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: “It is vital that food businesses keep premises clean and have effective food management practices in place to protect public health.
"All inspections are carried out by qualified Environmental Health Officers in line with the legislation and the Code of Practice issued by the Food Standards Agency.“Food business operators can appeal their Food Hygiene Scheme rating within 21 days of an inspection if they think it is unfair.
"They can also pay for a reassessment when they have rectified all the matters identified in the report. Details on how a food business operator can do this are in the written report provided at the time of the inspection and our officers are on hand to support and provide advice both at the time or following the inspection.”
Do you think the rating system is unfair on small businesses? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
To get the latest email updates from LeedsLive, click here.
