A MAJOR UK supermarket has had two of its stores slapped with a one-star hygiene rating for selling out-of-date and defrosted food.
Morrisons was slammed by inspectors who said the stores “posed a risk to human health”.
At its branch in Caernarvon Road in Cheltenham, meat and fish products in the freezers were found to be “soft and floppy” as they weren’t cold enough.
One freezer was found to be at -0.4C, while inspectors found frozen cod fillets at -1.1C, according to a Freedom of Information request obtained by The Grocer.
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Frozen food should be kept at -18C or less under food safety regulations.
After the inspection in January, the supermarket was forced to through away 431 items, including 48 packets of Morrisons Savers Chicken Nuggets and 33 bags of Young’s Flipper Dippers.
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Another branch in Aberyswyth, Wales, was also handed a one-star rating in February following complaints from customers.
Health inspectors discovered out-of-date food, including a chilli con carne ready meal and yellowfin sole fillets being sold a day beyond their use-by dates.
They also found dirty freezers and deli equipment in the store, and a “significant quantity” of ready meals stored above the legal limit of 8C.
Morrisons said: “We take food hygiene issues extremely seriously and these reports reflect historic issues in both cases.
“As soon as we became aware of the rating, we took immediate action to address and resolve the issues raised. We are working towards re-inspections at both stores.”
It comes after Morrisons was fined £750,000 earlier this year over a dirty bakery at its Cwmbran branch in Wales in August 2024.
