A GASTROPUB has been slammed by inspectors after out of date food and dirty equipment were discovered in the kitchen.

The Windmill Inn on Chester Road in Tabley has reportedly sacked a chef after the pub was issued with a food hygiene rating of zero.

Cooked smoked streaky sandwich bacon was found in a fridge almost four months out of date.

Facon bacon and prosciutto had also passed their safe usage.

In a damning report, a food hygiene inspector from Cheshire East Council said: “The use-by date is the date until which the manufacturer of the food guarantees it is safe to eat.

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“Food sold beyond its use-by date may be of poor quality or unfit.

“It is an offence to sell or expose for sale food with an expired use by date.”

The pub was ordered to check stock daily and dispose of any out of date food.

A number of food items that had been frozen and defrosted had no proper date labels on them to show how long they had been kept.

“Any food that is frozen and subsequently defrosted should be labelled as such so that it is clear it is still safe to eat,” said the inspector.

“It is also recommended that frozen down food is only kept for three months.”

Trays and containers of raw meat were also discovered without any information indicating how long the food had been stored.

Serious shortcomings in safe food management were revealed as the health inspector sought information during the visit on April 21, this year.

“When speaking to the chef it was not clear how long prepared food was supposed to be kept,” said the inspector.

“Some prepared items of food had labels on them stating when they had been prepared, however other foods had no dates at all.

“This included high risk items such as rices, sauces and desserts.

“I strongly advise that all prepared high risk food should be kept for a maximum of three days, including the day of preparation.

“A consistent approach should be adopted for date labelling and training given to all kitchen staff.”

Various pieces of equipment were found to be ‘very dirty’ including the inside of the microwave, dishwasher trays and a probe thermometer.

The seals and fan in the walk in chiller and a wash hand basin had not been kept clean.

The inspector warned about the risk of pests entering the country pub because the back door had been left open.

This door should be kept closed or fitted with pest protection, the pub was told.

Tiling on the breakfast bar was damaged so it could not be kept adequately clean.

Dirty cloths were also found dumped at the back door.

“It was not clear what was going to be happening to these,” said the inspector.

“It is strongly recommended that a container is used to store dirty and used cleaning cloths and that these are all cleaned on a boil wash at the end of each day to limit cross contamination issues.”

No adequate provision had been made for the disposal or collection of food waste and other refuse as there were no commercial bins on site due to a change of bin collector.

Rubbish was being taken away daily and put with private waste.

Books to record the safe management of food at the start and end of every day had not been filled in.

A large number of private items such as staff clothing and golf clubs, which can cause potential contamination, were also found in the kitchen.

The inspector reprimanded staff, saying: “It was apparent during my inspection that the level of food hygiene awareness and the procedures that are supposed to be followed in your kitchen amongst your staff was inadequate.”

It is understood that improvements have now been introduced.

The Guardian asked The Windmill Inn for a comment but has not yet received a reply.