New details have emerged after a cafe managed by Derby City Council at Derby Arena was given a one-star food hygiene rating in the autumn. Inspectors said “major improvement” was necessary at Cafe 42 @ Derby Arena following an inspection in October 2024, which found a number of concerns.
The cafe’s grade has since been upgraded to a rating of four out of five after a subsequent inspection in December. The October report detailed the state of the kitchen, dry store, walk-in fridge, servery, vending machine and other bar and storage areas.
It noted sandwiches made on-site were stored in a fridge without a use-by date on them. Mouse droppings were found in the kitchen, behind fridges and vending machines and in the reception area – with a video supplied by a member of the public showing a mouse running around the cafe area under tables.
A statement from the hygiene inspector said: “At the time of my visit, there were sandwiches made on-site within the fridge without a use-by date on them. You need to make sure that food is not just labelled with the date opened/made but also a use-by date.
“I had concerns over storage in that the shell eggs were stored next to ready-to-eat tuna mayonnaise and ham. There were raw burgers stored next to ready-to-eat foods, such as brioche buns, bread, etc, in both of the ice cream freezers. Although the foods were all wrapped/covered, this is still poor practice. Raw meat and eggs must be stored separately or below cooked/ready-to-eat food items in fridges and freezers.”
The inspector added: “During my visit evidence of mouse activity was present in the premises, in particular mouse droppings were present in the kitchen servery area, on the floor and behind fridges.
“Mouse droppings were also present around and behind the vending machines, in the reception area – particularly in the grates/cavities covered by grills – under the windows and on skirting boards, and in the reception store room. The video, supplied by a member of the public, showed a mouse running around the café area, under the tables. On speaking to the manager of the arena, a mouse had been caught and released outside.”
The inspector detailed a list of things staff agreed to do before another inspection and allowed the cafe to remain open due to no evidence of mouse activity in the main kitchen or dry store, and cleaning was “good”. Staff agreed to increase cleaning in the servery and kitchen, fit brush strips to all doors, move all food and packaging from the servery area at night, ensure all pots are washed and placed into sealed containers and to clean the tables each morning using appropriate products.
Commenting on the confidence in management/control procedures, the inspector added: “Whilst you have some procedures/controls in place to ensure food safety, you must also provide documentation to show this. I understand that there was awareness of mouse activity in the premises since April 2024.
“However, I was told that the pest control contract had only newly been set up for the kitchen so paperwork for previous months was not available, and proofing work had not been initiated until my visit. There does not seem to be a joined-up approach to pest control between the building management and the kitchen management. This needs to be in place to allow the pest management to be run effectively.”
The inspector also made some recommendations, including obtaining a vacuum cleaner with a long attachment to clean the floors and walls, rather than sweep. It also added that the fridges in the bar should be turned off if not in use.
After the inspector’s second visit in mid-December, the cafe was found to have implemented the correct proceedings and suggestions made in the visit prior, earning a four-star rating. In the recent report, the inspector said: “During my visit, a very small amount of mouse droppings were found at the wall floor junction of the first-floor bar, by the vending machine and a dropping was found in the kitchen, by the kitchen staff earlier today.
“At the time of my visit there was no risk to food safety due to the additional controls you had implemented in the kitchen and servery. You are keeping daily records to inform your pest control contractor and management; proofing works have now been completed in the kitchen area; the standards of cleaning at the time of inspection were good and you were taking steps to protecting equipment and food.
“However, there is still mouse activity in the arena as a whole, particularly noted in the service corridor located next to the kitchen. The pest control systems need to continue to be implemented, regularly reviewed, and management needs to be strictly implemented to prevent the infestation from increasing again.”