Zero rated Powys bakery found to have rats and mouldy food

MPJ bakery in Hay-on Wye received the rating after an inspection earlier this year found a number of concerning issues in their premises around pests, out of date food and structural issues.

Inspectors found that there was a number of unfit food products on the premises including out of date ham, flour “contaminated by flour moth infestation” and “deteriorated/mushy cucumbers, mouldy lettuce, and food which had become contaminated by leaking water and mould in the walk-in chiller.”

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In the garage that was attached to the premises inspectors found evidence of a “serious mouse and rat infestation” as well as infestation in the storeroom/freezer room.

A spokesperson for the company said that this issue had arisen after the pest controller who helped keep the building secure from pests unexpectedly died and they were not informed – meaning they struggled to deal with it in a building that is in need of development.  

The report found that “the standard of cleaning to the entire structure of the bakery was found to be poor – especially at wall-floor junctions, where there was a significant amount of food debris accumulated.”

Inspectors also noted that there “were holes in the bakery structure (including a hole in the wall to the side of the oven, and a hole in the wall leading outside) which will allow access for pests”, however the bakery said the holeswere “made by the fire brigade in order to identify whether the ceiling is properly insulated against a possible fire”.

They also found “there was a leak in the walk-in chiller, located in the storeroom/freezer room, resulting in leaking water over food products, which may become contaminated.

“The leaking water was pooled over the floor, resulting in mould growth – and buckets of dirty leaking water were collected in this area.

“Non-food items (including tyres, a scooter and non-food chemicals) were stored in the storeroom."

A spokesperson MPJ Bakery said: “All of the questioned raw materials were taken to the farm and disposed of in compost.

“During the inspection, production was suspended for a week and the bakery's warehouses were excluded from use, as recommended by the inspection.

“During the closure of the bakery, the walls and ceilings were renovated and the production and storage rooms were brought to the required cleanliness.”

They added that since the report they have “introduced increased attention to the best-before dates of all raw materials and we dispose of their surplus on an ongoing basis, if any.

“We have reduced the purchase of raw materials and increased the frequency of purchases and we have introduced new forms of GHP and GMP codes for purity control as recommended.

The Bakery also confirmed that they have “signed a new contract with a company dealing with Pest Control” and that “earlier reports did not indicate sensitive critical points and there were no significant shortcomings, and if there were any, they were described in the reports and successively combated.”

They also confirmed that they have plans to “clean up the flour warehouse and the fire escape to the first floor of the bakery”.

This included talks with their landlord who has given them “the assurance of financial assistance” to help them bring the building up to standard.

They added: “The bakery for a long period of time, around 30 to 40 years, was underinvested. They are more and more aware that if food business is to be carried out in the bakery, it is necessary to invest in the plant to meet the increasingly strict standards of the GHP and GMP and HACCP codes.”