Mouldy Goods Found

The Organic Village Market grocery store in Tonbridge has improved its food hygiene rating after an earlier inspection found rotting food there.

The shop received a final warning from food hygiene inspectors on December 10 after they found dirt and mouldy food in the premises and gave the business a zero-star food hygiene rating.

However, after improvements were carried out and a reinspection on January 27, the High Street business has been re-rated with three stars.

One of the owners said the original difficulties followed the sudden departure of the store manager.

The Organic Village Market says online that it sells “a wide selection of organic fruit, vegetables and healthy products that are as environmentally friendly as possible”.

However, after Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council officers visited, one wrote to the business saying: “I was very disappointed to find so much mouldy or out-of-date food, and the premises looking so dirty once again.

“We served on you a similar Hygiene Improvement Notice for a deep clean in 2023.

“This letter and the two notices enclosed are a final warning. We may take legal action if we find similar conditions at any future visit.”

In their report, the inspectors described a litany of health and safety hazards at the business.

The inspector wrote: “A bowl of black olives was visibly mouldy — this had been left uncovered and at ambient temperature". See below.

The inspector continued: “In the walk-in chiller, I found a cardboard box containing various fruits, vegetables and herbs that were all discoloured or badly mouldy.

“On the floor in the walk-in chiller, there was a spherical item of produce, entirely covered with mould and therefore not identifiable.” (This is pictured below.)

The inspector even found several buckets of jams and fillings, ranging from one month to 18 months beyond their best-before dates.

The inspector continued: “Another bucket had such a mouldy label that it was no longer legible and the contents could not be identified.”

They also found a “broken glass jar full of screws” on a shelf (shown below), which they described as “utterly irresponsible and could cause a serious injury to consumers”.

The firm was also chastised for its staff’s practices, with the inspector writing: “Wearing gloves continually is not a substitute for hand washing.

“Remind all food handlers to change their gloves and/or wash their hands between each task.”

Concluding the report, the inspector urged them: “Deep clean the entire premises and all equipment, paying particular attention to less accessible areas beneath and behind heavy or fixed equipment, or where flooring is damaged.”

When TMBC officers reinspected the business on January 27, they found improvements had been made and re-rated it with three stars out of five.

Muhammed Sajid Khan, co-owner of Organic Village Market, said that they  “took quick action” after the report.

He said: “It was a busy time for us, we were short of staff. My manager quit at the same time so it was a difficult time for us but at the moment we are satisfactory.

“The staff forgot to clean on the side.

“The cold room, I agree, shouldn’t have had that mould on the side but I don’t think we should have got a zero for it.”

However, he said he felt the particular inspector was “picky”, adding: “Generally, our store has always been a high standard and still is.”