A HEREFORDSHIRE pub has been told major improvement is needed after it was handed a one-star rating by food hygiene inspectors.

The inspection on March 10 found issues with food safety at The Dog Inn in Ewyas Harold, including an overstocked fridge, a dirty deep-fat fryer, and allergen problems.

The pub received an overall rating of one out of five, with the inspector saying major improvement was needed in the management of food safety, while the cleanliness and condition of the building and facilities were found to be good and hygienic food handling was found to be generally satisfactory.

Records at the pub were called into question by the inspector, who said the business had not done enough to show how they identify, control, and monitor activities to ensure that food is safe.

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Issues found included the temperature of the fridge and freezer, which while recorded, were higher than they should have been with no remedial action taken. It was also unclear as to how the temperatures had been recorded, as there was no calibrated probe thermometer to be found, the inspector said.

The pub could not say where frozen meal items in the freezer had come from, while a box of samosas was found to have no indication of how it should be stored, or its durability, other than dates written in felt-tip pen.

"All businesses should be able to identify the business that supplied it with food," the inspector wrote, telling the business that it had seven days in which to tell them where the samosas, cooked curries, and rice originated.

The pub's records also failed to identify any of the 14 allergens present in the ready meals in the freezer, meaning they could not guarantee their food was allergen free.

The inspector said they had found a pack of unsealed ham jammed in among items including pre-packed salads in the fridge, posing a risk of the ham being contaminated.

The fridge itself was found to have been overstocked, with every shelf tightly packed with items including cooked meats, samosas, salad, and vegetable items, which reduces the ability of the fridge to work efficiently, the inspector said.

The pub's deep-fat fryer, which the inspector was told was not working that day, was found to be covered in grease.

"I can therefore only conclude that this item of equipment had been in this state for some time," the inspector wrote.

"This unit, along with all items of equipment, should be thoroughly cleaned and maintained in a clean condition."

The kitchen's ventilation system was found to be a hole into the ceiling, meaning grease and odours were being taken straight into the ducting pipework without a filter that can be removed for cleaning, while a broken light in the main kitchen meant that there was insufficient light.

We have attempted to contact The Dog Inn for comment.