EVIDENCE of poor food handling and the absence of paperwork at an Indian restaurant in Burnham has been found by food hygiene inspectors.

Curry Gardens in Eastfield Road, Burnham, was instructed that major improvement to standards was necessary following the routine inspection by a Buckinghamshire Council officer on May 26.

A host of issues were identified, including inspectors noting Curry Gardens staff "do not understand disinfection process". 

It has been described as "critical" that all staff are trained and verified as competent in disinfection techniques.

A food safety report issued by a council officer to the business went on to say that "identified controls" were not being carried out.

These include delivery temperatures, storage (chilled and frozen) temperatures, cooking & hot holding temperatures, cooling and reheating record sheets which were found to be not completed.

The Food Standards Agency has advised Curry Gardens that they must ensure that staff are properly trained and are aware of the controls they need to carry out. 

At the time of the inspection, it was also noted that most high-risk foods stored in fridges and freezers had not been adequately date stamped with the use-by date.

The restaurant has been told it must adopt an effective system of date stamping foods and stock rotation to ensure foods are not sold with an expired use-by date.

In the food standards report, they added: "At the time of the inspection it was noted that your food preparation area is not separated.

"You must prepare raw foods such as meat and ready-to-eat foods in different areas.

"Never use the same chopping board or knives for preparing raw meat/poultry and for ready-to-eat food.

"Harmful bacteria from raw foods can spread from chopping boards and knives to other foods."

Other areas that needed to be addressed included safety training and allergen management.

The Food Standard's Agency has noted that the kitchen extractor fan needs cleaning and a gap underneath the rear kitchen door has the potential to let pests access the premises and must be fixed.

The officer gave Curry Gardens a zero out of five food hygiene rating, with this outcome published online last month.

Following the inspection, Curry Gardens has been told it has 21 days to appeal the decision.

READ MORE: Curry house set to lose £8k of business after being slammed with zero hygiene rating

Owner, Malik Miah, previously told the paper: "We would like to take this opportunity to reassure all our beloved customers that our food is always made on the day every day and not once in the last six years of trading have we ever received complaints of poor food quality.

"We like to apologise for any inconvenience this [rating] may have caused and are more than happy to answer any questions you may have."