A popular Chinese restaurant has been slapped with a one star food hygiene rating after horrified inspectors found raw chicken in a bucket on the floor.
Environmental health officers found a catalogue of problems at Silver Star in Maghull including cooking staff not wearing clean clothes, a rusty fridge, and raw and cooked meat being stored alongside each other.
The sink that was supposed to be for hand washing was instead being used to store a bag of chips.
Inspectors have told owners that staff must wash their hands after using the toilet; handling rubbish; smoking; taking a break; and handling raw food.
Following the February inspection, the restaurant - which has a 4.5 rating on Tripadvisor - was given the second lowest hygiene rating, and the report says staff's food hygiene awareness was 'inadequate'.
The following standards were recorded:
- Hygienic food handling: Improvement necessary
- Cleanliness and condition of facilities and building: Generally satisfactory
- Management of food safety: Major improvement necessary
Much of the kitchen floor was covered in dirt and debris, and there was no stock control system for food prepared in the kitchen.
Owners of Silver Star, which is situated on Liverpool Road South, have been instructed to introduce a system of date coding for high-risk foods to ensure they are not used beyond their shelf-life.
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Silver Star has been approached for comment.
