Effingham Road Sandwich Shop: Inspector reveals what was found at one star hygiene-rated sandwich shop

A long-running sandwich shop in Sheffield has been handed one of the worst food hygiene ratings possible after a number of concerns were raised following an inspection.

A routine inspection at Effingham Road Sandwich Shop, in Attercliffe, found that the takeaway was operating at a food hygiene rating of 1, meaning ‘major improvements’ were necessary. 

On the day of inspection, on July 20 2023, a food safety officer checked how the establishment, on Effingham Road, was meeting the law on food hygiene across three areas.

They found that the business was working at ‘generally satisfactory’ standards for its hygienic food handling, but improvement was necessary for the cleanliness and condition of facilities and building, and ‘major improvement’ was necessary for the management of food safety.

The Star can now reveal the full details of the inspection.

The food inspector marked a low score for 'confidence in management' due to uncompleted documentation on food safety management procedures, and "safe methods" not being put into practice. 

The inspector noted that this meant the business could not effectively identify where risks to food safety could occur, or how it could be controlled. They added: "I am concerned that the premises history indicates a varying track-record of compliance, with poor cleaning standards and temperature control issues also noted at the last inspection (and subsequent revisits). 

"There is unsatisfactory progress in terms of developing, implementing, and maintaining the food safety management procedures commensurate with this type of high-risk business, since the last intervention rating."

Immediate action was needed to ensure all high-risk foods were held at or below 8C after certain refrigerated food was found to be "too warm". This included tuna mayonnaise, grated cheese, chicken tikka and cooked ham.

At the time of the inspection, the inspector said the business had run out of sanitiser, and "cleaning standards were generally poor". 

The premises was said to be in need of a deep clean throughout, and a cleaning schedule was to be created or reviewed to ensure all parts of the premises, equipment and utensils are thoroughly cleaned, on a regular basis.

Areas found in need of "thorough cleaning" were the rear storeroom area, the middle kitchen, the servery kitchen, the exterior. This included mould to the seal of the chest freezer lid, ingrained dirt to the sink unit and surrounding work table, encrusted grease to the griddle, and grease dripping down the wall from the extract ventilation grille.

The food safety officer also said they did not see any of the food handlers wash their hands during their visit. They said: "Thorough and regular hand washing is essential, and all staff should be reminded of this."

The inspector added: "A revisit will be made to check progress with work. Failure to make the necessary improvements to a satisfactory standard will result in enforcement action being taken."

As of September 26, this establishment still operated at a food hygiene standard of 1. 

Effingham Road Sandwich Shop has a 4.6 out of 5 star rating according to 45 customer reviews on Google. It serves a range of hot and cold food, including sandwiches, chips, pies, and salads, and claims it was established in 1989.