Aberdeen DoubleTree accused of falsifying food safety records

Staff at the DoubleTree by Hilton Aberdeen City Centre hotel stand accused of falsifying food safety records and re-labelling foods to extend their shelf life.

An environmental health officer (EHO) that visited the property on 8 February expressed "serious concerns" over the safety of the food being served at the 168-bedroom property.

The officer found "a general lack of control over food safety risks and a lack of appreciation of the importance of food safety among kitchen staff" with no stock control system in place within the kitchen.

They said: "Should similar standards be found by this service again, consideration will be given to reporting this matter directly to the procurator fiscal recommending prosecution."

More than 100 containers of out of date or unfit food items were disposed of at the time of inspection. The officer said a large proportion of the food was either visibly unfit, beyond the applied use-by date, beyond the manufacturer's use-by date or not labelled with any durability date at all.

Sandwiches were found in the walk-in chiller covered in a wet, visibly dirty chef cloth and meat stored on the floor, units were leaking and surfaces were described as "dirty and sticky to touch".

An orange juice machine was "dirty and rusty on the inside" with no cleaning schedule and nobody aware of how often it was cleaned, while a milk pergola was "dirty with a build-up of dried-on milk". Evidence was also found that delivery records were being falsified.

A second visit on 27 March found "significant improvement in practices and procedures" and most issues raised addressed.

A spokesperson for the hotel said: "We expect to uphold the highest of standards when it comes to food preparation at our hotel. We have been working closely to fully address the matters raised in the EHO's February report.

"As a result we have adjusted our processes and conducted training sessions for our team members, the EHO re-visited us in March and have indicated they are satisfied with the measures we have taken."

An Aberdeen City Council spokesperson said: "The report followed a routine inspection, carried out in line with procedure. The food business operator resolved the immediate issues at the time of the inspection."

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