A Powys care home was awarded a food hygiene rating of one after a large number of flies were found.

St Nicholas House in Churchstoke was given the rating after inspectors from the Food Standards Agency said the home had not taken “all reasonable precautions to prevent food pests”.

In their report inspectors said: “Food businesses must take all reasonable precautions to prevent food pests, namely rats, mice, cockroaches and flying insects gaining entry into food storage and preparation areas. This is to prevent the contamination of foodstuffs."

The home was then rebuked for its structural issues and “reluctance in recognising or accepting the need for food safety and hygiene control procedures”.

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The inspector added: “At the time of my inspection there were a number of flies in the kitchen and although the kitchen windows were screened, the back door, which leads to the bin store, was wide open, allowing flies access into food storage and preparation areas.”

“In my opinion, you have not taken reasonable precautions to prevent flying insect access, and looking at the number of flies on the fly papers in the kitchen, this had been an issue for some time.

“Flies were seen landing on open cooked food, which I informed staff to dispose of due to the risk of contamination.

“As a matter of urgency review and improve your flying insect control, Ensure the insectocutors are cleaned and serviced to ensure they are working correctly.”

The home was also criticised for its safety checks. Inspectors added that “The Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point Plan (HACCP), originally written in 2012, had not been reviewed since the last inspection in 2022 as detailed in the inspection report. The HACCP viewed was not comprehensive and doesn’t reflect the practices occurring in the kitchen.

“It doesn’t cover all food handling activities in the kitchen such as your blended meals. As a matter of priority, you must put in place an implement a suitable food safety management system.

“In addition, you must ensure that staff are properly trained and are aware of the controls they need to carry out. Staff must also be supervised and checked as necessary, so you are sure that all controls that are critical to food safety are being properly implemented and maintained.”