Shock in store at the Cafe Mouldy
Soft cheese was nine months out of date
Grub was months out of date at a trendy Ayr bistro.
And mould was found thriving is an opened jar of tomato sauce.
Council officers visited Cafe Society in Alloway Place following a complaint alleging the premises “were not being maintained in a clean condition”.
Inspectors have given the restaurant four weeks to solve their problems after slapping them with an official ‘ improvement required’ rating.
A South Ayrshire Council food safety officer said: “During my investigation it was apparent that conditions of cleanliness and food safety were most unsatsifactory and well below the standards expected by this service.
“Many foods which had expired their ‘ use by’ dates were found in the kitchen, which may pose a serious risk to health if consumed.”
Inspectors found a number of foods past their ‘ use by’ dates, including sour cream which was almost two months out of date and guacamole dip nearing six weeks since its use by date.
And an opened jar of Dolmio bolognese sauce had “extensive mould growth”, with officers finding it “unfit for human consumption.”
The report said: “It is an offence to have in possession for sale foods which no longer meet the food safety requirements.”
The damning report also contained details of food well past its best before date, with arrabiata sauce almost nine months past the cut- off and stem ginger and salsa both still in the kitchen despite being due for the bin at the beginning of this year.
More out of date food was found inside a defective fridge - including french dressing and soft cheese which was almost nine months past its best.
Inspectors agreed that these foods were not intended for sale, but the restaurant was still ordered to fix the issue.
A number of food hygiene issues were identified, including 13 dirty areas throughout the restaurant and kitchen.
Floors in the kitchen and service area, shelves, walls and cupboards were all dirty, according to the report.
And another thirteen pieces of equipment, including deep fat fryers, a food mixer, microwave ovens and freezers were also found to be dirty.
Now inspectors will make another visit to Cafe Society again before the end of this month to check whether conditions have improved.
Mystery surrounds the current name of the restaurant, with signs at the Alloway Place bistro and the Facebook page updated in recent days to show the name Cafe Sips & Bytes.
However, a red and white square sign saying Cafe Society remains on the outside wall.