A food hygiene inspection led to Manchester United’s Old Trafford kitchen being given a one-star ‘scores on the doors’ rating (Picture: Getty)
Manchester United’s catering staff served raw chicken thighs to 30 people at a corporate event, according to an inspection report.
A council official warned the Red Devils that their Old Trafford facility had put guests ‘at risk of consuming campylobacter and/or salmonella’.
Guests in both VIP and non-VIP areas at the Safety Health Environment Show complained during the event on November 21 last year.
Temperature checks had not been completed for the vast majority of around 300 pieces of chicken which were served as part of a lunch offering, the document obtained by Metro.co.uk shows.
Trafford Council launched an investigation, which resulted in the Sir Matt Busby Way kitchen being given a one-star food hygiene rating, meaning ‘major improvement necessary’.
The inspection report reads: ‘You have advised us that approximately 300 pieces of chicken were cooked for the event with an average of 15 pieces of chicken per tray.
‘This would equate to 20 trays of chicken thighs being cooked.
‘From reviewing the temperature records only three core temperatures for chicken thighs have been recorded at 11:00 – 11:20, 11:30 – 12:00 and 13:30 – 14:00. This leaves approximately 17 trays of chicken thighs where temperature records were not completed.
‘The service of raw chicken demonstrates that none of the affected pieces had been probed. You must ensure that food is probed and temperatures recorded as per your systems.’
The catering provided at Old Trafford was found to have put guests at risk (Picture: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Workshops around topics such as behaviour, adversity and climate change and sustainability were said to have attracted between 200 and 250 delegates each at the show, according to the MailOnline.
Eight people are shown in the document to have complained about being served raw chicken. A council official also found flaws in the cooking procedure during the ‘partial’ inspection.
The document reads: ‘As part of the implementation of procedures staff must ensure that cooked food is removed from the oven before it is re-loaded with raw food for cooking.
‘The witness statement you have provided us states that staff were instructed to remove cooked chicken from the bottom oven apart from the bottom rack of the bottom oven as raw chicken had been loaded onto this rack. This process must be reviewed to remove the risk of raw food being served to customers.’
The club’s record-keeping was also pulled up in the inspection.
The report continues: ‘When incidents are reported you must ensure that corrective actions are implemented.
‘The information we have received shows that 8 people across both ‘VIP’ and ‘non VIP’ areas reported being served raw chicken to staff.
‘However, the incident report shows that a complaint was received at approximately 13:15. ‘You must undertake appropriate measures to ensure that staff escalate complaints as necessary.’
The club’s rating fell from the maximum five stars to one in the online system, with the award being live as of January 19.
Efforts to look into the incident by the club were also found wanting by the environmental health officer.
The report, which was completed two days after the event, continues: ‘Where incidents are reported it is important that a thorough investigation is undertaken to establish the cause of the incident and to allow for appropriate action to be taken.
‘The cooking process described in the incident report that was submitted on the 23rd November 2023 did not reflect the handling process described by the chefs.
‘Additionally, witness statements had been taken from two chefs. However, no other staff involved in the delivery of the event had provided statements.
‘You must review the incident report to ensure it is reflective of the handling process for the chicken thighs and that you obtain statements from all staff involved in the delivery of the event.
‘It is recommended that you review your data-sharing agreements with future event organisers to ensure that you are in a position to start any investigations needed immediately.’
The club was given a ‘major improvement’ notice for its food business at Old Trafford (Picture: Food Standards Agency)
Manchester United responded to the one-star rating on the FSA’s website.
The club said: ‘Following the isolated incident in one of our kitchens, MUFC quickly took action to ensure immediate failures were addressed.
‘Kitchen staff were rebriefed on MUFC’s food safety requirements, kitchen procedures were reviewed and an external audit of all kitchens was commissioned. Going forwards we have increased the frequency of our audit regime to provide assurance to our valued fans and customers.
‘MUFC serves thousands of meals each month and has an impeccable track record which led to our 5 star food hygiene rating.
‘Following a thorough investigation, it was confirmed a small amount of undercooked meat was inadvertently served during a non match day event.
‘This was an isolated issue and the immediate failures were quickly addressed. MUFC has taken this incident very seriously and wants to reassure our valued fans and customers that we maintain the highest culinary standards.’
In November, a spokesperson for Trafford Council said: ‘We can confirm that the hygiene rating for Old Trafford (Manchester United) has been downgraded from five to one.
‘This follows a food hygiene investigation following an incident where undercooked food was served at an event on 21 November.’
The council said this week that it did not want to comment further.
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An inspection led to the Old Trafford catering service being given a one-star food hygiene rating.