A South London bakery has been blasted after a council inspector found mouldy stew in a chiller.

London Agege Bread Bakers Limited in Deptford was given the worst possible rating of 0 out of 5 for food hygiene following the visit in November 2021. 

The shop, which claims to be the UK’s first Nigerian bakery, was criticised for keeping food products beyond their best before dates.

The inspector also found cooked fish and meat stored at 16 to 17 degrees celsius, against food safety guidelines. 

The food hygiene report dated November 4 2021 reads: “The stew in the pot inside the walk-in chiller looked spoiled … was cooked a long time ago, and building up some mould inside it. This should be cleaned immediately.”

It continues: “Some of the frozen cooked food products had best before dates gone past their desire[d] period […]There is no arrangement in place to monitor the temperatures of cooked foods, chiller units and hot display units.

"High risk foods such as cooked fish, meats and meat patties etc were found kept at ambient temperatures of 16°-17°C.”

The report goes on to criticise the absence of any allergy information at the bakery and notes gaps in the cleaning of the shop.

It reads: “No Allergen matrix is on site and staff has no idea on menu. This is a serious issue.

“Build-up of dirt and grime noted in surfaces such as light switches, door handles, fridge and freezer door handles.

"Build up of dirt, food debris and grime noted inside microwave.” 

The bakery had no qualified food handler working there at the time of the visit, in breach of food safety guidelines.

The inspector criticised the bakery for the oversight – saying the manager had been told of the requirement before.

The report reads: “There was no qualified food handler on site at the time of the inspection.

"As previously advised, you always have to ensure that there is always a trained staff [member] on site.” 

Stephen Ayantuga, manager of London Agege Bread Bakers Limited in Deptford, said the shop had acted on the inspector’s concerns.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We’ve got it right now.

"We’ve done all the cold room and everything and the food temperatures.

"We’ve done a hot plate. They’re happy with it.

"We’ve done all the improvements required.

"They said it was alright now.

"I’m going to invite them back to come and visit.”

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