TWO food outlets in a Hull shopping precinct have significantly improved since receiving poor hygiene ratings earlier this year, managers have said.
El Taco Loco and Pizza Neo, in the StrEAT food court at the Prospect Shopping Centre, were both given a grade of one by environmental health inspectors, meaning major improvement was necessary.
The Mail understands this was partly due to concerns about a supervisor who has since moved on.
StrEAT is operated by CPL Foods. A spokesman for the company said: "We are fully compliant with environmental health regulations and continue to invest heavily in our operations and facilities.
"When an environmental health officer visited back in January, the low rating was reported to be solely due to their lack of confidence in the management of one of the outlets at the time."
The firm said the issue was rapidly resolved.
With new managers now in place, it said there were no further concerns.
The spokesman said: "This was addressed immediately, ten months ago, and a new management team was put in place.
"The full team is accredited by the Safer Food Better Business training programme, recognised by the Food Standards Agency, and we are looking forward to our score being reviewed to positive effect in January.
"CPL Foods is fast approaching its first birthday at Prospect Shopping Centre and we are delighted to report a highly successful year."
Since the inspections, environmental health officers from Hull City Council have been working with the outlet managers.
They are expected to carry out new inspections in the coming months.
The council's public heath team said it was not aware of any issues involving either outlet at present.
The £1m upstairs food court opened in December, eight years after an earlier eating area closed.
It also includes Burger King, which was given the maximum score of five when inspected in January.
CPL Foods has signed a 15-year deal with the centre to run StrEAT.
When it launched, Prospect Centre manager Lee Appleton said the new facility would help attract more shoppers.
The precinct is about to fill its last vacant unit and should be fully let by the end of the year. It will be the first time without vacancies in at least three years.
Last month, Mr Appleton said the school holidays had seen strong sales.
He said: "We've had a positive summer.
"Visitor numbers are up, so from a centre point of view that's great as attracting customers is our core business.
"There are some positive signs for the stores too. I'm not saying they're all seeing the benefits, but the majority have seen increases."
The Prospect Centre recorded footfall increases of more than 10 per cent in every summer month.
The number of visitors from January to September was a quarter higher than in 2013.
All three city centre precincts have seen rising visitor numbers. St Stephen's Shopping centre in Ferensway posted a record turnout for the 12 months to September.
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