City takeaway slapped with zero-star hygiene rating
The Prescot Road venue is known for its traditional serving of dishes, including Ndole (Cameroonian Bitterleaf), Eru (organic green vegetables cooked with meat and fish), Jollof Rice (a West African rice dish), and more. On its website, Cubana African Cuisine invites guests to 'sit down and relax' in the three-storey complex while watching sports events on the three large screens.
The venue also boasts a VIP lounge and a function room to cater for birthdays, christenings, stag and engagement parties.
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The website added: 'At Cubana, we serve you in many ways to de-stress and enhance your lifestyle.' On Wednesday, June 11, environmental health inspectors working in partnership with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) gave the venue a zero hygiene rating.
The ECHO reached out to the business on several occasions for comment, but without success. When we visited during the listed opening hours on Google, the shutters were down on two occasions. Cubana African Cuisine hasn't posted to its social media within weeks either.
On the date of the inspection, several concerns had been raised about conditions inside the takeaway, with 'urgent improvement necessary'.
The environmental health workers said improvement was needed in food handling, cleanliness, the condition of the facilities and buildings, and food safety management.
Liverpool Council's environmental health service conducts food hygiene inspections to ensure that food served to the public is safe to eat.
Officers can turn up unannounced and can take food samples and photographs to support any investigation.
Unless there is an immediate risk to health, businesses that received bad ratings are given time to make changes so that things improve.
They can also ask to be re-inspected or appeal the verdict handed down by officials.
A brief report available on the FSA website said the business needed to make 'urgent improvements " in food preparation, cooking, reheating, cooling, and storage. The same was said for the venue's layout, ventilation, and hand-washing facilities.
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