Food inspectors order ‘major’ cleanliness improvement at popular Sheffield city centre bar Forum

Officers from the Food Standards Agency inspected Forum Kitchen & Bar on May 17, 2019 before slapping it with a one-star hygiene rating.

Inspectors slammed the cleanliness and condition of the facilities and the building and declared that ‘major improvement’ was necessary.

However, inspectors found that areas including ‘Hygienic food handling’ and ‘Management of food safety’ were ‘Generally satisfactory’.

The food safety officer inspecting the business checks how well they are meeting the law by looking at:

- how hygienically the food is handled

– how it is prepared, cooked, re-heated, cooled and stored

- the condition of the structure of the buildings

– the cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities

- how the business manages and records what it does to make sure food is safe

At the end of the inspection, the business is given one of the six ratings from 0-5.

The top rating of ‘5’ means that the business was found to have ‘very good’ hygiene standards.

Sheffield City Council said it has a zero-tolerance policy on hygiene and revisits all premises with a food hygiene rating of zero, one or two to make sure that standards improve.

If a food business fails to improve, then the council will consider formal legal proceedings such as Improvement Notices, Prohibition or Prosecution.

The late-night bar serves a number of cocktails as well as offering an extensive food menu.

They offer a breakfast and brunch menu, sandwiches and pizzas as well as burgers, ‘powerbowls’ and ‘big plates’; served from 12pm to 9pm.

During the summer, Forum’s terrace is regularly packed full of customers, spilling out onto Devonshire Green, soaking up the sun.

Forum has been contacted for a comment.