A Wirral restaurant has dramatically improved its food hygiene rating, after getting the worst possible score last month.
Portofino, in Union Terrace, New Brighton, was given a four-star rating, the second best possible score, after a fresh inspection on April 19. The news comes less than a month after it was revealed the restaurant scored zero stars in an inspection which took place on February 18.
Although the full food hygiene report was not published, information released along with the rating showed there were particular concerns in the areas of ‘hygienic food handling’ and ‘management of food safety’. A spokesperson for Portofino said they felt the restaurant did not deserve the zero star rating it received after the February inspection.
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A further spokesperson for the restaurant said all the issues identified in the previous inspection were addressed straight away, but that the main issue was with paperwork. They also said the only reason the premises did not get a five-star rating this time was that a venue cannot go all the way from zero stars in one report to five in the next one. The spokesperson added one issue in the previous inspection was the inspector did not think staff training levels were up to the level they would like and that paperwork was not filled out to the standard they wanted.
But the spokesperson said staff members are now all fully trained and fully aware of what is wanted. They said Portofino contested the zero-star rating from the beginning and that they had “such a clean kitchen”, something the restaurant prides itself on.
Information sent out with the previous inspection’s zero star rating showed major improvement was necessary in the areas of hygienic food handling and management of food safety. Hygienic food handling includes preparation, cooking, cooling, reheating and storage, while management of food safety assesses systems or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future.
Concerns in the other area looked at by inspectors, called ‘cleanliness and condition of facilities and building’, were slightly less severe, but inspectors concluded improvement was necessary. This area looked at the layout of the restaurant, its ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control, all of which are important for ensuring good food hygiene.
Following the previous inspection, a spokesperson for Portofino said the restaurant has contested the rating with Wirral Council, as they believe its standards of practice are much higher than a zero-star. The spokesperson added: “There were issues raised about how we store food, but there’s no cross-contamination and everything’s fresh.
“We sat down with inspectors and went through all of the relevant documents and all the things we need to do to improve. We’ve dealt with all the issues raised and where improvements were needed we’ve carried them out.
“Everyone with any sort of food handling [responsibility] has been retrained. We’ll definitely get a much better rating [at our next inspection].”
