Sugar Desserts: Sheffield takeaway on Abbeydale Road slapped with a 1 star food hygiene rating

Sugar Desserts & Co, on Abbeydale Road, was inspected on June 1, 2023 when it was handed a food hygiene rating of 1, meaning it was told ‘major improvements were necessary’ in order to be compliant with food law.

As of this month (August), the establishment remains a 1 rated premises, and will receive further revisits by environmental health officers until they are compliant. 

According to their website, Sugar Desserts, also known as Sugar Xpress, offers "great sweet desserts at affordable prices". Items available for purchase includes ice cream, waffles, and milkshakes.

The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme has been designed to help consumers choose where to eat out or shop for food by giving them information about the hygiene standards in food outlets at the time they were inspected. The highest rating available is 5, and the lowest rating is 0.

Each food hygiene inspection looks at three categories:

1. Hygienic food handling
2. Cleanliness and condition of facilities and building
3. Management of food safety

Public sector information obtained from Sheffield City Council and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 has revealed that the desserts takeaway shop was found to have ‘good’ standards for the hygienic handling of food, and ‘generally satisfactory’ cleanliness, but it required ‘major improvements’ in the management of food safety.

In the report, the inspector noted that: “All food businesses must develop documented food safety management procedures based on ‘HACCP’ principles. This means that businesses must identify where risks to food safety could occur and how they will control those risks.

“All food businesses must develop documented food safety management procedures based on ‘HACCP’ principles, this means that businesses must identify where risks to food safety could occur and how they will control those risks.”

The inspector also said that the establishment should inform their customers that they could not guarantee food they prepare will be “totally free from allergens”, until they look into their food handling practices. 

Some areas were also found to present a risk of “microbiological, physical, chemical contamination or food allergen cross-contact”. One example the inspector gave was that reusable supermarket carrier bags were found in the freezer, where single use food grade bags or washable containers should be used. 

The establishment was recommended to create a written cleaning schedule to ensure all parts of the premises, equipment and utensils were thoroughly cleaned on a regular basis. The refrigerator handles were found to be sticky at the time of inspection, and there was a mop in a bucket of dirty water. 

The establishment has a 4.9 out of 5 star rating on Just Eat, from 239 reviews.