Slime, 'rancid' cheese and mice found in restaurant

A Merseyside restaurant has been given a food hygiene rating of zero after slime, "rancid" feta cheese, mouldy olives and mouse droppings were found.

Amara, a family-run Turkish barbecue restaurant in Wallasey Village, was given the worst possible rating after an inspection by Wirral Council.

A series of food handling and health and safety concerns were found and the business was told urgent improvement was necessary in all areas.

Amara has been approached for comment.

When environmental health inspectors visited the restaurant in October they found evidence of mice in the kitchen with droppings seen behind and under the chest freezer and at the bottom of the kitchen stairs.

Mice droppings were also found next to takeaway food packaging and plastic food bags, with no evidence of any pest control measures.

Issues with food handling were also found and included hummus being stored incorrectly and a container of mouldy olives and sun-dried tomatoes.

A container of prepared garnish with "mould spores evidence on the lid and some of the food inside, such as the sliced tomato", the report said.

Other findings included a tub of feta cheese which "had gone pink and smelt rancid", prawns placed on a "greasy and dirty" dish to defrost, and the kitchen fridge dirty with "water, slime, mould and food debris on the inside surfaces and door".

Inspectors also found the area behind the charcoal grill to be "filthy" and the kitchen walls to be dirty with food debris and grease.

Other concerns included an oven being wedged shut with a wooden stool and a woven seat cover covered with grease, which was deemed a fire hazard.

The business was given the worst scores in all three inspection areas and served with a voluntary prohibition notice.

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