The Bird at Birtle given low food hygiene rating

The Bird at Birtle

The Bird at Birtle has been given a low food hygiene rating following a Food Standards Agency inspection in December, but owner Andrew Nutter insists this was purely down to out-of-date paperwork.

The inspection at the pub/restaurant on Bury and Rochdale Old Road on 14 December 2016 gave a food hygiene rating of ‘1’, out of a possible ‘5’.

Food safety officers found that improvement was necessary for hygienic food handling, and 'major improvement' was necessary in regards to the management of food safety at the pub.

Management of food safety concerns 'systems or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future.'

However, owner Andrew Nutter, who also runs Nutters Restaurant in Norden, said the low rating was due to problems with paperwork and this automatically resulted in the low rating.

In a statement, he said: “Since opening the Bird at Birtle six months ago, the kitchen has been under a lot of pressure and subsequently paperwork was not up-to-date for the inspection in December.

“We have since been working very closely with Environmental Health and Rochdale Council with regards to the relevant legislation. I’m pleased to say all paperwork is now up-to-date pending further inspection.”

Jackie Hall, Rochdale Borough Council’s public protection team leader, said: “The Bird at Birtle restaurant was awarded a level one food hygiene rating in its latest inspection in December 2016. The restaurant is working to improve its score and the council is offering advice and support to help them improve their score.”