Branch of popular US coffee chain told that urgent improvement is necessary
The Starbucks site in Liverpool One(Image: Liverpool Echo)
A Liverpool city centre branch of Starbucks has been slapped with a zero rating for food hygiene after an inspection last month. The US coffee chain has a number of sites dotted around Liverpool city centre.
The Starbucks branch in Thomas Steers Way, which is part of the wider Liverpool One complex and close to Chavasse Park, was inspected by Liverpool Council’s environmental health inspectors on November 5. Following the inspection the branch was awarded a zero rating for food hygiene.
Starbucks has told the ECHO that the rating is “far from the standards we expect.” The company said the store was temporarily closed after the inspection to resolve the issues identified.
Food hygiene ratings are awarded by local health inspection teams to businesses that sell food, with five being the highest rating and zero the lowest.
According to the website of the Food Standards Agency, where ratings are displayed, there were numerous areas of concern highlighted by the inspectors which led to the zero rating.
The website indicates that the inspection found issues with the hygienic handling of food including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage.
The Starbucks site in Liverpool One
The inspection team said urgent improvement was necessary in this area.
There were also concerns raised about the cleanliness and condition of the facilities and building, including whether the building had an appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control in order to enable good food hygiene.
The team also demanded urgent improvement in this area.
Finally, there were issues found in the management of food safety at the building.
This revolves around the systems or checks in place at the business to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat and evidence that staff know about food safety and that the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future.
Once again, the inspectors found the need for urgent improvement in this area following their inspection of the Starbucks branch.
When the ECHO approached Starbucks for a response, a spokesperson told us: “Providing a clean and welcoming environment for our customers is our greatest priority and this rating is far from the standards we expect.
“This licensed store in Liverpool was closed immediately after the inspection in November to resolve the issues identified. The store has since reopened, and we have submitted an application for another inspection.”