FlyerTalk Forums - Response from BaxterStorey [lounge food hygiene "poor" rating]

A Food Safety Inspector from the London Borough of Hillingdon has inspected the food preparation areas of the Concorde Room and Galleries First Lounge at Heathrow Terminal 5 (run by BaxterStorey on behalf of British Airways) and has indicated under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme that Food Hygiene and Safety is POOR:

http://i.imgur.com/RLJXZjY.png http://i.imgur.com/WzdAQea.png?1

It's an appalling score, putting the lounge in the bottom 10% of food establishments in England (worse than many burger vans and kebab shops!).

A 5/5 score was awarded in the past year to BA's T3 and (unspecified) Galleries T5 lounges (whilst under Compass' control prior to handover to BaxterStorey). Galleries Club Lounges in Terminal 5 A were reassessed in September 2013 and scored 4 (North Lounge) and 2 (South Lounge) - both are discussed here. Aer Lingus, Cathay, AA, Virgin and other airside lounges all scored 5/5. Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food received a 2/5 rating (food being cooked in a different way to the manual, burgers being kept warm rather than hot, a broken fridge and washing hands in a "utensil only" sink).

5 days after the score was first revealed on Flyertalk, BaxterStorey posted a statement just prior to a story being published in the Daily Mail (which was sourced from this thread!). A spokesperson for British Airways said "We work with BaxterStorey to provide a high quality service to customers using our lounges, and take all feedback seriously. We continue to invest in our product and are currently renovating our kitchen facilities.”

The Council's Report was obtained by Fife, published in .pdf here. The reasons for the poor score were not just the kitchen facilities, but included the following areas for immediate rectification:

:td: Out of Date Ingredients: eggs and quince beyond their safe use-by date were being served to passengers.

:td: Meat Stored at Room Temperature: ham sandwiches and cooked ham left at 16°C/61°F. The maximum safe temperature is 8°C/46°F

:td: Hot Food Not Hot Enough: sausages and scrambled eggs left at 50°C/122°F. The minimum safe temperature is 63°C/145°F

:td: Dirty Kitchen: 7 separate areas were found to be so dirty they needed an immediate thorough cleaning.

:td: Cross Contamination of Food: a member of staff handled raw salmon, then immediately performed other kitchen duties without removing their gloves, or washing their hands, risking cross-contamination.

:td: Risk of Access by Rats, Mice and Insects: a long gap in a kitchen back door required immediate filling to minimise pest entry points.

In addition, BaxterStorey were given until the end of September to accurately record the training given to their staff - Compass did not pass on their training records to BaxterStorey, and as BS had no record of training performed since it took over, BS was unable to hand any record of compliance with training standards to the inspector.