The owners of Cafe Damascus on Calne High Street are reassuring customers that their food is safe after a recent incident where a local resident found glass in a kebab purchased from the establishment.
Nisreen and Tamer, the cafe owners, stated that they were devastated to find out that the doner meat they had bought from a supplier was contaminated with small pieces of glass.
Last Friday, a customer purchased food from Damascus Cafe and discovered a piece of glass in the kebab. A second piece was then found - prompting her to contact the cafe owners.
Nisreen and Tamer who own Cafe Damascus replaced the kebab with a fresh one prepared with meat from the neighboring Charcoal Grill, retaining the contaminated kebab for Environmental Health to investigate.
Tamer contacted N&B Foods, who confirmed the fault and admitted that other retail customers had also reported similar issues with glass in their products.
"This is the first time we changed supplier," Nisreen explained. "We tasted the food and thought it was good so made an order.
"We know for sure everything we make ourselves is safe and good quality but we will not buy in doner meat from this supplier again. We have returned to our original supplier,"
News of the incident has spread throughout Calne, leading to a significant drop in kebab sales for Cafe Damascus. Nisreen even reported being harassed by school children who shouted accusations about serving glass in their food.
"I just don't want people to think it isn't safe to eat our kebabs now," Nisreen pleaded. "We prepare all our food from scratch apart from the doner meat which we buy in. We have now changed suppliers again, but we will always double check the meat in the future."
While a complaint was lodged with Environmental Health at Wiltshire Council, Cafe Damascus maintains its 5-star hygiene rating.
Keen to reassure the public, Nisreen and Tamer contacted Environmental Health themselves to request a re-grading. An officer has carried out an inspection today, 17th June, and was happy to provide Cafe Damascus with a 5 star rating. The officer said it was more likely to have been hard plastic than glass as glass is rarely in contact with food preparation. The officer also confirmed they will be contacting N&B Foods Ltd to conduct inspections at their facility.
Nisreen sent this message to the residents of Calne: "Friends and loved ones, dear family, we hope everyone is well and your health matters to us, and we apologise for the mistake that happened because of the suppliers, we are keen to provide food to you accurately because you mean a lot to us, and we care about your comfort, happiness and satisfaction, the food we offer is fresh and cooked at the time of order. We hope to see you, and we are happy to serve you at any time"
A spokesperson for N&B Foods Ltd told us: "We are committed to maintaining high standards in our business operations, and whenever concerns are raised, we investigate them promptly. While we are unable to discuss specific details of our customers trust is paramount, and we are dedicated to continual improvement."
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