Mouse droppings found in Oxford city Chinese restaurant

Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle in New Inn Hall Street was inspected by Oxford City Council on May 26.

Inspectors subsequently handed the Chinese restaurant a rating of two out of five, meaning “improvement necessary”.

According to the report, received by the Oxford Mail after a Freedom of Information request submission, officers identified a series of concerns, including evidence of mouse activity.

The report states that mouse droppings were found throughout the business in two food storage rooms and the bar area.

In one of the storage areas, mouse activity was present where noodles were kept in plastic carrier bags and potatoes and onion were left in the open.

“Historic” mouse droppings at Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle (Image: Oxford City Council)

Inspectors said pest-proofing measures were “not great” and identified a hole beneath a sink in the bar area which could potentially allow pests to enter the premises.

In the report, the inspector said: “At the time of the inspection, I observed a number of historic mouse dropping in both the food storage areas.

“The most recent pest control report mentions no mouse activity in any of the food storage areas.

“All areas where food is prepared and stored must be kept clean and capable of being kept clean. This is so that pests are not attracted into your premises and the risk of food being contaminated by dirt is minimised.”

They advised the owner to remove all historic mouse droppings within the food business and continue to identify any issues of pest proofing within a month.

A hole where pests could have entered underneath the sink (Image: Oxford City Council)

The business was instructed to remove the droppings and improve pest-proofing measures where previous temporary work had failed.

Food storage issues were also highlighted during the inspection.

In an “overfilled” fridge, officers found raw chicken stored above ready-to-eat foods, including uncovered beans and spring onions, which could cause cross-contamination leading to food poisoning.

That same fridge, which stored items such as cooked rice, chicken ballotine and prawns, was above the required eight degrees, raising concern about food poisoning.

A large number of food containers were also unlabelled, despite the food looking fresh.

The officer insisted a “robust system for ensuring adequate stock rotation” was implemented and recommended all food be kept in sealed, pest-proof containers.

An overfilled fridge which was measured above safe temperature (Image: Oxford City Council)

No food-safe sanitiser or disinfectant were available on site, only a kitchen cleaner which they said did not provide adequate disinfection.

Despite the concerns, the report noted there had been a “huge improvement” in cleaning standards since the restaurant’s previous inspection.

The business also had a food safety management system in place and a pest control contract with Pure Pest Solutions.

The council has required a range of improvements, with compliance timescales ranging from one week to one month with a revisit inspection planned.