A secondary school has been told “major improvement” is needed in its canteen after a damning food hygiene inspection.

Bushey Meads School’s canteen, run by Impact Food Group, was given a 1/5 rating following a visit by assessors on November 5.

The school, based in Coldharbour Lane, and Impact Food Group have responded saying changes have already been made to improve the standards.

Inspectors graded the management of food safety as “major improvement necessary”. This area is assessed on whether correct checks are in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat.

It also assesses whether staff know about food safety, and whether the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future.

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However, the area of hygienic food handling, including preparation, cooking, reheating, cooling and storage, was graded “generally satisfactory”.

Cleanliness and condition of facilities and building, including having hand washing facilities and pest control, to enable good food hygiene was also found to be “generally satisfactory”.

Jeremy Turner, executive principal of Bushey St James Trust, which the school is part of, said the school was disappointed with the rating given to Impact Food Group.

He added: “It is not reflective of the standards we expect, where food safety and hygiene is of paramount importance.”

 

Mr Turner said parents could contact the school if they wanted to review the kitchen and food standards with Impact Food Group.

Watford Observer: The canteen at Bushey Meads School is ran by Impact Food Group.The canteen at Bushey Meads School is ran by Impact Food Group. (Image: Google Street View)

A spokesperson for the Impact Food Group said it is the only 1-star rating across its business portfolio and “urgent remedial action was taken” after the inspection.

They added: “The kitchen team has undergone full retraining and a new chef manager is in place to ensure best practices are being consistently upheld.”

A Food Safety Audit was conducted at Bushey Meads before the end of term and it has already applied for a re-rating, said the spokesperson.

“We are confident that the environmental health officer will see significant improvements and a vastly improved rating on their next visit,” they added.