‘Filthy’ York Subway fast food outlet told to clean up

The Clifford Street branch of Subway was given a food hygiene rating of one out of five by City of York Council inspectors earlier this year, meaning major improvement was necessary following an inspection.

During a visit on September 1, inspectors identified a number of problems at the shop, which included:

-”Multiple fruit flies” found around pools of spilled liquids

-”Dirty floors”, “filthy” drinks dispensers and handwash basins, “cleaning neglect” across the site, dusty extractor fans, and evidence that workers were “cleaning around” stock and machinery

-A “cluttered and uncleanable” food room, used for “excessive storage of packaging, ingredients and cleaning chemicals”, the amount of which was “exacerbating the cleaning deficiencies”

-The cleaning schedule was not being followed, despite being a prerequisite for the store’s food safety management system

-No recording of the unclean conditions, or plans for ‘deep cleaning’ to rectify them

The cleanliness of the shop had been criticised previously by an employee in April this year, after they arrived for a morning shift and found blocked sinks and dirty containers full of salad and vegetables.

The branch is one of just six Subway stores to have received a mark of one out of five in the ‘Scores on the Doors’, with only one branch - in Abergavenny, Wales - receiving a score of zero.

Matt Boxall, head of public protection at City of York Council, said improvements had taken place since the report.

He said: “I am pleased to say that, as can be seen from the report, the business took the issues raised seriously. It was re visited a few days later - on September 4, 2016 - and ‘significant deep cleaning’ had taken place. No further visits were deemed necessary in relation to the matters raised. The business will of course be re-visited again, unannounced, in accordance with our visit programme.”

Subway were approached to comment on this matter, but had not responded at time of going to press.