Night market eatery re-graded to A, but hard hit by reports of poor food grading

Tasty of Xi An owner claims she learned her business was given a D grade only from media reports. Photo / Lincoln Tan.

Tasty of Xi An has improved back to an A-grade, but owner Run Pang says it had been hit hard by reports of its poor grading.

The business, which operates at various night markets in Auckland, was listed as one of 11 food outlets given a D grade and one with an E grade following inspections made between June and August by Auckland Council food safety officers (FSO).

Pang said she was upset that she learned about the D grading only through media reports and not directly from the council, but the council is adamant the food grading was handed and received at the time of its inspection.

Crowds at the Sunday night at Westfield Mall in Glenfield. File photo / Dean Purcell.

A council spokeswoman said she had spoken with the FSO, who was very clear that the D grade and improvement plan were given and received by the business owner at the time of her visit.

"She was also a Mandarin speaker so feels comfortable that she was understood," the spokeswoman said.

"We also emailed the Night Markets twice after receiving the original complaint and this was ahead of the FSOs visit."

Pang acknowledged she was given an improvement notice following an inspection in July, but said she not told that meant the business had been downgraded.

"I was wondering why business slowed down, and was shocked when someone told me that it had been reported in the media we were a D grade," she said.

"We are very upset that our food grading was not directly told to us by the council."

Pang said her business had always been A graded, but an FSO found some issues with its equipment and food storage during an inspection last month.

Auckland Council's environmental health manager Mervyn Chetty said FSOs inspected Tasty of Xi An on July 12 following a complaint from a member of the public about issues on food handling.

"The issues were for 'process control' - it essentially comprises equipment, procedures or behaviours that control or impact food safety and suitability," Chetty said.

Following the inspection, he said the FSO issued the business owners with an improvement notice and a D-grading.

This meant the business had been identified as having issues which were likely to result in food being unsafe or unsuitable.

The FSO went back to the market to check for compliance on August 3, but the market was closed.

The owners said they were on a break at the time and asked for the FSO to meet them at the Botany market on August 14.

Two days before that inspection, the council released its list of E and D grade food outlets to the media.

At the re-inspection, Tasty of Xi An was found to be compliant and put back to an A grade.

Auckland Night Markets director Paul de Jonge said it was unfair for the council to release food grades for businesses which were being re-inspected.

"Surely the council would know the impact this will have on businesses, and in this case when there's a date set for re-inspection," de Jonge said.

"By the time people read the food-grading reports in the media, Tasty of Xi An was already back as an A grade eatery, but what stays in people's minds is the D grade."

De Jonge said he would be writing to the council to seek clarification on what its notification procedures were.