A BREAKFAST cafe named after Sir Roger Bannister has been found to be off the pace when it comes to food hygiene standards.

Bannister's in Iffley Road scored a one-star food hygiene rating at a recent inspection after council hygiene bosses found out-of-date soup, black pudding opened for more than a week and hollandaise sauce made with the wrong eggs.

The cafe, further down from the Roger Bannister Running Track, was also ordered to properly re-train its staff and put a food safety management system in place following the visit in April.

Oxford City Council environmental health officers wrote a 12-page report detailing legal requirements and recommended improvements the cafe should make.

It read: "At the time of my inspection fresh shell eggs were used to make hollandaise sauce – it is strongly recommended that pasteurised egg be used as a replacement.

"Soup, made on Saturday, April 9 was still in storage on the day of the visit Thursday, April 14.

"It is recommended that the shelf-life of food is no more than the day of preparation or cooking."

It added: "Black puddings stored in the fridge were without date labels and I was informed they were opened about a week ago – the label read 'use within three days of opening'"

The family-run cafe, which opened in March, scored 'Poor' when it came to Food Hygiene and Safety and 'Little' in the Confidence in Management category.

The breakfast joint, which is just half a mile from the spot where Sir Roger Bannister become the first man to run a sub-four-minute mile in May 1954, were not quite up to speed with hygiene regulations.

The council report read: "Inadequate controls were in place to reduce the risk of cross-contamination – ie making burgers on site without safe systems in place, use of timber chopping boards, use of dirty dish cloths.

"I am concerned that the only facility for hand washing is in the servery and only one sink is provided in the kitchen – please review!"

Staff were also told to swat up on the new allergen regulations that mean food handlers must be able to tell customers what allergens are in food when asked.

Light bulbs in the kitchen were not covered and carried a health of safety risk of potential breaking glass and the positioning of a fridge balanced on top of a larger fridge also posed a risk.

The Oxford Mail tried to approach Bannister’s Café but it was temporarily closed due to a lack of staff.

It is expected to re-open later this week.