Mouse droppings and out-of-date meat at celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s City of London butcher’s shop were among finds which led to it being shut.
The shop, Barbecoa Butchers, reopened within 24 hours after the closure, having been scored one out of five by public health officers in January. This score was listed on the Food Standards Agency website with the comment “major improvement necessary”.
However, the closure was voluntary, said a spokeswoman for Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group.
According to The Times, which used a freedom of information request to get details, the discoveries included mould on carcasses in basement chillers, dirty slicers and vacuum packers, and the meat out of date included wagyu beef, oxtail, onglet, marrow bone, and lomo de cana.
City of London inspectors said deboned chicken breasts were removed from a box, then vacuum packed and relabelled with a date set for a week later and there was no safety management system.
Other faults included dirty handles on fridge doors, inadequate washing facilities, weak lighting, and damaged flooring.
A restaurant group spokeswoman said such matters were very rare and were treated with the greatest severity.
Barbecoa Butchers, near St Paul’s Cathedral, was founded four years ago by Oliver and American chef Adam Perry Lang. It supplies meat to its namesake restauraunt upstairs.
After reopening, the improvements were noted by the environmental health officer, said the group spokeswoman.
Copyright Press Association 2014