The owner of a Berkshire-wide butcher has spoken out about the one-star food hygiene rating at their Bracknell branch.

J.L Butchers is a specialist food shop and butchers providing a range of quality prepared and unprepared meats.

After being inspected by Food Standards where they received a one-star food hygiene rating, customers came forward with their worries about the rating.

This comes after the business was awarded the Berkshire Butcher of the Year.

The initial surprise inspection took place on August 15, 2024 when inspectors noted that the management of food safety needed ‘major improvement necessary’ and ‘cleanliness of facilities’ needed 'improvement'.

After speaking to owner, James Lowe, he recounted the issues that resulted in the shockingly low hygiene score.

He said: “It’s just bad luck that the day before the inspection our boiler stopped working so we didn’t have any hot water. This has since been replaced and food standards have said they are happy about it.

“In regards to management of food safety, the reason we got such a low score was because the employee working at the time couldn’t find the food safety manual which they needed to see. It was in one of the cupboards which he didn’t know about.”

In a revisit following the inspection, the Food Standards Authority noted: “We completed a revisit on 30/9/24. It was pleasing to note improvement.”

J.L Butchers Wokingham branch, located in the Squire's Garden Centre, maintains a five-star food hygiene rating.