The Queens Head pub has bumped up its food hygiene rating to a four after it was scored one star from its visit by the public health watchdog in June.
According to the Southern Daily Echo, the kitchen was in operation despite positive sightings of rodent infestations, posing a risk of food contamination.
But following the pub’s inspection on 14 October, environmental health chiefs scored the pub a new rating of four out of five.
Taking it seriously
A spokesperson for the Queens Head, in Eastleigh, Hampshire, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded a four-star rating in our latest inspection and hope this has restored the local community’s confidence in the pub and the quality of food and service that we provide.”
The re-inspection showed the pub had met with legal obligations and showed good standards of hygiene.
The spokesman continued: “We take our food hygiene extremely seriously and we have completed a significant amount of work behind the scenes to address the points raised by the local authority at the time of the last inspection in June.”
The pub currently holds a three out of five score on TripAdvisor with 84 reviews rating the premises as ‘excellent’.
Steps to eradicate pests
Anderson Food Hygiene, an award-winning training, auditing and consultancy business for the hospitality sector, told The Morning Advertiser that many landlords and pub owners are failing to take the required steps to eradicate pests in their properties.
Managing director and food hygiene expert Sylvia Anderson said: “Here at Anderson Food Hygiene, we see many landlords and pub owners not adhering to some simple steps to eradicate or prevent pests within their own pubs or using a cheaper pest control company, which can result in bad publicity.
“What we would recommend is for pub owners or landlords to take a preventative or proactive approach to pests rather than try to control a problem. The key is to prevent it in the first place.”
