A popular Auckland bakery has confessed it has had to temporarily close its doors because it received the lowest possible food safety grade.<\/p>\n
Following an inspection, Auckland City Council has given Levain Artisinal in Blockhouse Bay an E, which one of its co-owners claimed is “operational and compliance-related”.<\/p>\n
On social media, Sean Vo said its initial claim that the closure was for “family reasons” was not the “whole truth”.<\/p>\n
“When I received that news, I panicked.<\/p>\n
“Out of fear, shame, and a desire to protect my family and staff from immediate judgement, I chose to hide behind a vague excuse.”<\/p>\n
Auckland Council specialist operations manager Veronica Lee-Thompson told the NZ Herald a risk “associated with pest control processes” at Blockhouse Bay eatery Levain was identified during a site visit last week.<\/p>\n
The grade was serious, and served as a “painful wake-up call”, Vo said.<\/p>\n
“We are not running away from this. We are using this closure to fix everything.”<\/p>\n
Over the past few days, Levain had a professional deep clean, and addressed every point raised by the council inspectors, he said.<\/p>\n
Its entire team had also been retrained to complete daily compliance logs and follow safety protocols, he added.<\/p>\n
Levain was working with the council to expedite a re-inspection, Vo said.<\/p>\n