Friday, January 10, 2014

Busting the mysterious Spice Hut hygiene myth



Emdad Rahman: Yesterday I was forwarded a malicious text referring to Spice Hut in Burdett Road. Although by no means the most glamorous eaterie in the borough it is, along with its sister shop on Mile End Road, one of the most popular haunts for local fast food aficionados. 

I got tired of telling people to verify the information as it seemed be a substandard, poorly written and maliciously concocted attempt to affect someone's livelihood and thus spent my lunch hour digging this. 

The details of hygiene levels mentioned within the text are false. There is no planned inspection/closure. I now know that there is no Mr Phillips from the Council nor is there a Mr Walker from Business Standards. The references mentioned are not listed on the local authority website under local business reviews. 

There is no local 'prayer leader' named 'Imbrahim (sic) Musa' and I'm sure readers are unfamiliar with the designation used within the text. There are no Imams (or prayer leaders) with that name and just to be doubly sure I have contacted and checked the Council of Mosques, office holders and board of trustees. There is no Imbrahim/Ibrahim Musa amongst their office holders, board of trustees or members. 

I spoke to Shahab Uddin who is the owner. This afternoon he opened his third branch near Watney Market. He confirmed that the texts were malicious and not true: "This is designed to hurt our reputation and we have all found this to be very upsetting. We will be reporting this to the council as well as the police."

It was further revealed that there is no inspection as stated in the circulated texts: "We welcome checks but this is also false. It's sad that people have to stoop to these levels to hurt others," he added.

Scores on the doors has the latest food hygiene ratings for Spice Hut here.

Well who dunnit? Was it an unhappy customer? A disgruntled employee? An ambitious competitor? It remains to be seen what impact this text has but I believe in this instance all publicity is good publicity. I think this text has actually raised the profile of Spice Hut and will increase sympathy and visitors. 

So there you have it. The type of communication below is designed to affect decent hardworking people. Don't forward rubbish like this unless you're totally sure about authenticity. Innocent complicity could wrongfully character assassinate someone and dearly affect their means of livelihood. If you're still concerned then avoid by all means but please don't allow your common sense to be duped by a hoax. 

The offensive text...

THE FAST FOOD OUTLET "SPICE HUT" WHICH IS LOCATED ON BURDETT ROAD MILE END IS GOING THROUGH A 1 WEEK AUDIT BECAUSE OF IT'S HYGIENE ISSUES. 

FAST FOOD RESUARANTS USUALLY GO THROUGH A 1 DAY TESTING AND RECEIVE A CERTIFICATE TO CONTINUE BUSINESS.

THIS HAS HAPPENED DUE TO SEVERAL ANONYMOUS COMPLAINTS REGARDING FOOD POISONNING, VIEWING OF MICE, COCKROACHES, BLACK OIL (WHICH CAUSES CANCER TO THE STOMACH) AND STAFF HAVING NO LEVEL OF PERSONAL HYGIENE. 

MR PHILLIPS FROM TOWER HAMLETS COUNCIL (LOCAL BUSINESS NEWS EDITING DEPARTMENT) WENT THERE ON 26 NOVEMBER 2013. HIS REACTION STARTLED OTHERS AS HE WENT THERE UNDERCOVER. HE HAD SAID THIS IS THE MOST BUSIEST SHOP ON THE ROAD AND I HAVE ALREADY SEEN 2 MICE ON THE SEATING AREA AND THE MAN SERVING THE FOOD HAS A FLU AND HE IS CONSTANTLY TOUCHING HIS NOSTRILS. 

FOOD WAS TAKEN BACK TO BE EXAMINED AND THE CONTENT IN THE FOOD WAS TERRIBLE. QUOTES MR WALKER FROM BUSINESS STANDARDS. THERE WAS HAIR, HUMAN DNA FROM SWEAT AND SALIVA, EXCREMENT OF MICE PARTICLES ON THE CHICKEN OILS. 

MR WALKER IS SAYING THE BUSINESS WILL MAY BE SHUT  DOWN AFTER ONE WEEK OF MONITORING WHICH WILL START ON 16 FEBRUARY 2014. PEOPLE ARE ADVISED NOT EAT THERE TILL THIS IS OVER AND RESULTS WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER. 

SHAIKH IMBRAHIM MUSA, LOCAL PRAYER LEADER IN THE MOSQUES OF TOWER HAMLETS HAS SAID, " IF YOU THINK THIS PLACE SPICE HUT IS HALAL THEN PIGS REALLY CAN FLY. THERE'S NO HMC CERTIFIED DOCUMENT DISPLAYED, AND IF THE OWNER TOLD YOU BUT IT'S HALAL, DOES THAT MAKE IT RIGHT? " THE PRAYER LEADER THEN CONTINUED SAYING ." IF I WAS TO GIVE YOU DRUGS AND SAY IT'S HALAL, WOULD YOU STILL TAKE IT AND BLAME ME LATER FOR SAYING IT'S HALAL? YOU HAVE TO USE YOUR OWN LOGIC " 

PLEASE TAKE NOTE IN WHAT HAS BEEN MENTIONED IN THIS MESSAGE AND ALL QUOTES AND NAME REFERENCES CAN BE FOUND ON THE TOWER HAMLETS WEBSITE UNDER LOCAL BUSINESS REVIEWS.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jealous People out there... Let the people make there living, And no need to get HMC in it

AND ALLAH KNOWS BEST

Anonymous said...

Jazakallah khayr

Anonymous said...

All in five minutes work:

As beautiful as your long explanation is, which clears out almost any doubts of the hygiene, you missed out one little thing. Can you explain the 'no show' of Spice Hut on HMC's website, brother Emdad?

Here is the link for HMC's website:
http://www.halalhmc.org/mobile/search-outlets.htm

Anonymous said...

Totally agree with the comment above please explain the HMC issue brother Emdad or else your explanation is biased as your are taking a one sided approach.

Anonymous said...

Spicehut dont claim hmc certification just that they are halal

Anonymous said...

Spice hut does not sell hmc meat nor claim its hmc, they sell halal meat from halal suppliers.

Anonymous said...

There was life before hmc. Muslims Trust another Muslims word that is from Islam. There's no need for this hmc bidah. Which is what it really is. Hmc is bidah. As long as a Muslim tells you its halal then it's halal for you. The drug analogy is very shallow and Silly. Drugs and food are two different things.

Anonymous said...

I've inspected both the spice huts and have given the score of 3 and 4. I can confirm they sell halal food but but not hmc and they don't claim hmc.

Anonymous said...

They don't claim HMC you idiots, Why does everything be HMC for it to be Halal, If they say it's Halal, then it is and if it isn't, then they're gonna have to answer to Allah.

Anonymous said...

I agree strongly

Anonymous said...

I really do not understand how people can stoop this low

Mr B said...

One of the fast food outlets in east London
People say other wise they need to visit spice huts and decide for themselves.
Jealous people and have nothing better to do but talk behind others.
Also these whom don't like to see others doing well in life
As they can't admit the truth is that they are a failure.
Respect to spice huts.
Well done to these who worked so hard and made spice huts what it is today.

Anonymous said...

There r too mny ppl that think only HMC is halal n everything else is haram! However they eat McDonalds and KFC in Arab countries coz it's a Muslim country..little do they know that chicken is sometimes imported from abroad. Do u ever ask them where the chicken came from or for a HMC certificate? Just coz it's a Muslim country u take their word for it but not ur Muslim brothers in the UK?

Unknown said...

Okay how do we know your telling the truth lol?? I'm not gonna be eating there until I do my own research Thank you very much

Anonymous said...

In all honesty I believe that text about Spice Hut 2 is bogus and made up by some angry customer or someone. However Spice Hut 2 does look very dirty, sticky & greasy all the time when you compare it to Spice Hut 1 and or many of the other popular PFC's in east London.

Anonymous said...

All these Asain fried fast food outlets are the same. They are all filled with mice,sweaty armpits and a very low level of hygiene. These workers clearly don't have a shower everyday and forget about cutting nails,they will just bite and chew it. I am pretty sure all the kebabs are mixed with human sweat for the lime zesty tenga taste.Hmc is just a joke.

Anonymous said...

People, HMC is a trusted organisation. I, like some, like to play it safe and only have that is HMc certified. Some of you may just take others word for it, but that's up to your risky selves.

Buk lau chy said...

I canot agri mor. For why somwun do dis. Tenks fowr riting dis wan. And to peple who rite taxt dont do et yh.

Anonymous said...

As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu

HMC is a reliable organisation serving the UK Muslim Ummah's need for halal food.

Does this mean we do not trust places like Spice hut who are run by hardworking muslims? No! but outlets like spice hut cannot garauntee their meat items are 100% slaughtered the way islamic shariah dictates.

This is the reason many muslims only trust HMC certified outlets as there is a proper monitoring system in place from the slaughter house to the Outlet, and from the Outlet's storage (cold room) to the Customer

Unknown said...

Hmc my brother is the one to trust coz they are monitored system u rather be safe than sorry salam ya ikhwan

Anonymous said...

Hmc or not halal is halal, the only way to make it 100% halal is to slaughter yourself.
ask yourself if the meat is from a Muslim farm and what are these animals being fed

Anonymous said...

Use proper English!

Anonymous said...

Someone mentioned poor personal hygiene and this is true of most of the PFC style establishments. Having worked in the open food environment for six years, I know for a fact that most of these establishment break food safety laws. They ignore the most basic requirement such wearing PPE and having regular cleaning programmes. They keep no records to back up their claims that they are clean and safe in terms of disposing of food products after their shelf life (chicken is usually two hours). I realise that these practices may be expensive or impractical as many of the staff cannot read and write English but basic hygiene such as washing hands regularly and wearing hair nets, performing intermittent cleaning with sanitisers and having a shower once in a while is surely a good start and a basic must? Take note chicken shop owners and managers.

Anonymous said...

Ignore accusation

Anonymous said...

HMC ensures that the animal is slaughtered according to Islamic rulings, which is to cut thtoat whilst animal is alive. Other sources such as HFA allow animals to be electricuted then slaughtered which means the animal is either half dead or fully dead before slaughter... which makes it "not halal". So there you go brothers and sisters, its as simple as that... there's no need to go into what animals are fed on farms and people eating mcD's in Muslim countries... how do u know we all do that coz i certainly don't! Anyways, on a more peaceful note; every soul has to answer for himself when they meet their Lord. Our duty is to just advice people, not criticize or force them to believe... salaam.

Anonymous said...

Ive had food in spice hut many times. Never had an issue with it being not halal. They never have claimed to being hmc when I asked them over the counter only being halal whixh I do not have a problem with. I have nothing against hmc and encourage people to go with them but there was life before hmc and they are not the only organisation that do halal food. Also brother imdad (owner of spice hut), people that do these sort of acts never get far in life. Just get on with ur work and leave the rest to allah swt. They c
an plot and plan but allah swt is the best of all planners.

Unknown said...

AFTER READING THE COMMENT FROM VERIOUS COMMENTS I HAVE BEEN EATING IN SPICE HUT FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW I SEE ALOT OF PLACES PUTTING HMC CERTIFICATE EVERYWHERE ITS A GOOD THING BUT DOES THAT MAKE ALL OTHER PLACES HARAM I DONT SO THE GENUINE HALAL PLACES MIGHT SAY THIS HMC IS ANOTHER MONEY MAKING SCHEME I BELIEVE THAT IF A PERSON ON A REALISTIC LEVEL AT THE COUNTER SAYS ITS HALAL THEN ITS HALAL AND IF THE ODD DODDGY ONE SAYS ITS HALAL BUT ITS HARAM AND YOU DONT KNOW ITS HARAM THEN ITS HALAL FOR YOU AND THE PERSON WHO KNOWS THERE SELLING OR SUPPLIYING HARAM PRODUCTS WILL FACE THE PUNISHMENT FROM ALLAH THE ALL MIGHTY FINALLY WHAT SPICE HUT IN BURDETT ROAD NEEDS IS A BIGGER LOCATION AS I SEE THE BACK KITCHEN AREA IS NOT BIG ENOUGH TO RUN SUCH A BUSY BUSINESS WHERE THEY CAN HAVE MORE SPACE TO ORGANISE THAT WAY THEY WILL HAVE A BETTER HYGINE PLACE TO SERVE ALL THE CUSTOMERS I KNOW PEOPLE DRIVE ALL THE WAY FROM ESSEX TO EAT IN SPICE HUT I KNOW ANOTHER GUY HIS DAD HAS A SEVERAL FRIED CHICKEN SHOPS YET HE COMES TO EAT IN SPICE HUT WHEN HE CAN EAT IN HIS SHOPS FOR FREE

Anonymous said...

I have used spice hut 2 for some years now and as I have moved to se London I only
go when I am visiting in the area.
Food there is good and inexpensive,but I have seen on occasion food hygiene issues once on a Friday when getting ready for prayers I saw 2 members of staff washing their feet in the large sink which is an absolute no no. Also no member of staff seems to wear any hats as required by law. these issues and probably others are why they only have a 3 rating
BUT FOOD IS GOOD SO I WILL CONTINUE TO USE IT AND I AM SCOTTISH NOT ASIAN