Owner says butchers has improved

The Bangla Bazar food store in Newcastle’s West End was given a zero hygiene rating in January, but its boss says it has now cleaned up A BUTCHERS boss sobbed after it was made public that her shop had been rapped for selling food that was eight years out of date.

But Riffat Ali, owner of zero-star rated Bangla Bazar, claims conditions were “not that bad” despite a damning report.

We revealed the Bangladeshi food store was caked in blood and dirt when inspected by Newcastle City Council in January.

Staff had to be reminded to wash their hands, while some stock had a best before date of 2010.

But Mrs Ali insists the West End store cleaned up its act almost instantly after being warned it must make an “urgent improvement”.

“(Newcastle City Council) gave us three weeks to clean it up and we did,” she claimed.

“Most of the things they’ve asked us to do, we have done.”

A sink, branded “rotten” by inspectors, has been replaced along with a chopping block which was so overused it couldn’t be properly cleaned. The owner of Bangla Bazar food store says she

When Wh we visited, i it d butchers b t h were no longer wearing blood-soaked overalls.

And Mrs Ali hit back at the council after inspectors criticised the store’s kitchen - and claimed it had no confidence in management.

“It is a butchers and they are cutting meat so blood will splash but they are doing their best,” said Mrs Ali, who took over in 2013.

“And if you are dealing with a 100kg meat order, your overalls will be dirty.

“It really was not that bad back in January – if it was that bad, they would close us.”

Instead, the authority demanded

Our story in last week’s Sunday Sun a string t i of f i improvements – and staff training – due to multiple hygiene breaches.

Mrs Ali claims the store’s improved so much she hopes a second inspection would achieve a better hygiene score.

But she wept on Saturday when the report was made public.

“I was shocked when I was told it was in the paper,” she admitted.

“It is very upsetting – my whole body started to shake.”

She claims that shock was because, in her mind, the takeaway had improved massively in the last eight months, claiming: “It is now perfectly clean.”