Adnans Sheffield: Health officer ‘very concerned’ after giving West Street kebab the worst hygiene score

Following a Freedom of Information request, The Star can now reveal the findings at an inspection of a popular Sheffield kebab that left one health officer “very concerned”. 

Adnans has been serving students and party-goers until the early hours of the morning in the city centre for 25 years - but on January 29, the West Street venue was handed a zero hygiene rating score.

The Food Standards Agency’s food hygiene rating scheme gives all food businesses a score between zero and five based on the findings at the time of an inspection. Zero means ‘urgent improvement necessary’, and puts the business at risk of enforcement action.

At the time of inspection, the health officer noted a number of concerns. As well as not seeing any “thorough” handwashing by any of the food handlers, it was also noted that raw chicken had “clearly been washed in the sink”.

The report read: “Raw chicken had been washed in a colander in the sink, then left to drain on top of a bucket containing cleaning cloths. It was unknown whether these were clean or dirty.

“This is a clear cross contamination route between raw chicken, cloths and surfaces/equipment that the cloths are used to clean.

‘Raw chicken should not be washed’

“Food Standards Agency guidance states that raw chicken should not be washed. There is a risk that water contaminated with bacteria from the raw chicken is splashed around the sink area. Ready to eat lettuce is also washed in a bucket at these sinks.

“After any form of preparation of raw meat must be followed by a two stage clean using a disinfectant to prevent cross contamination. There was no such means of disinfecting the sink available at the time of the inspection until a member of staff was dispatched to buy some.”

Several areas and items were also found to be in a “very dirty condition”. This included ‘clean’ food utensils that were greasy and had food debris stuck to them, cleaning cloths in a “soiled condition”, “worn and mouldy” chopping boards, and a build up of dirt on the floors, and grease on the walls.

Additionally, the inspector said they were “not satisfied” that adequate monitoring was in place to ensure high-risk food such as cooked chicken was being held at or above 63C.

The business was instructed to introduce a system for stock rotation to ensure food is used on a first in/first out basis and does not become unfit, and to label food with the date of preparation.

This was due to food from the previous evening, including cooked kebab meat and cooked chicken nuggets, being found in a switched off hot holding cabinet. The inspector said: “These foods must be discarded immediately after service and not stored in the premises overnight.

‘Unidentifiable foods’

“Sauces, salad and some unidentifiable foods were observed in a poor condition and unfit for human consumption due to drying out, colour deterioration and general unidentifiable debris in the food.”

It was also noted that the business must inform customers that it cannot guarantee any allergen-free meals. It comes after pizza toppings such as pineapple, ham, mushrooms and onions were seen in dirty containers with other pieces of “unidentifiable food” in the toppings. 

“This is a clear risk of cross contamination of potential allergens,” the inspector added.

The kebab subsequently closed for a number of weeks for a renovation in February and is believed to be trading again. 

Please note: At the time of writing (April 23), Adnans still has a hygiene score of zero according to latest data available by the FSA. This score is subject to change.