Aylsham Road food shop Giottos gets one-star hygiene rating

Giottos African Store, in Aylsham Road, opened on March 16 but has been told that "major improvement" is necessary for its management of food safety.

However, shop owner Gboluwaga ldowu, is confident another inspection by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) will produce "a much higher rating" than the one conducted on May 10.

The shop sells African food, fruit, vegetables and alcohol with products from countries such as Ghana, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast (Image: Giottos African Store)

He said: "The main issue was the tagging of our products.

"So some of the items we sourced didn't have sufficient information on the packaging, such as poultry which didn't have the date it was packed on or where it was from.

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"Some of the initial stock didn't have the necessary information on because we got our stock from a company that supplies restaurants.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said major improvement was necessary for the shop's management of food safety (Image: Newsquest)

"Because they don't need as much information on their packaging we were selling items wholesale we weren't meant to be."

Despite the shop's rating its hygienic food handling and the cleanliness and condition of its facilities were rated "good" by the FSA.

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"We were just finding our feet when it happened," added Mr Idowu.

Giottos African Store, in Alysham Road (Image: Google Maps)

"So we've stopped using our old supplier and we have a reinspection scheduled for Friday this week.

"I'm confident everything will get resolved and the shop will get a much higher rating this time around."

The shop sells African food, fruit, vegetables and alcohol at "affordable prices" with products from countries such as Ghana, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast.