Poor hygiene standards at Hull Royal Infirmary put the health of patients and visitors at risk, it has been revealed.

Officials from the environmental team at Hull City Council found out-of-date food, mould and dirt in the hospital's kitchens during the latest inspection.

Hygiene standards in patient, staff and visitor kitchens at the hospital were rated "poor".

The Mail can today reveal the concerns raised to managers after we obtained a copy of inspectors' reports through the Freedom of Information Act.

Officials found baby food several months past its best-before date on a children's ward.

Out-of-date juice and yoghurt was also found, which inspectors said was a potential health risk to patients.

Stephen Greep, chief executive of Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "We have already addressed every issue the environmental health department brought to our attention."

The report said: "Foods that are marked with a 'use by' date are, from a microbiological point of view, highly perishable and therefore more likely after a short period to constitute an immediate danger to human health.

"It is very bad practice to sell food that has expired its best-before date."

The report also criticised the hospital for making up baby milk formula and storing it, instead of mixing it as needed, as recommended.

It said: "It is bad practice to store this type of food for long periods as the risk of illness due to consumption increases."

Other concerns in a children's ward included there not being any disinfectant.

Problems were also highlighted in the Kingston Restaurant, which serves staff and visitors.

Salad was not washed before being served to visitors and a storage area was found to have chemicals kept near foodstuffs.

Eleven bags of rubbish had also been left lying around near lifts.

Cloths used in the kitchens were not being used properly, increasing the risk of cross-contamination between raw and cooked food.

The report said: "I am greatly concerned high-risk food will become contaminated with pathogenic bacteria through cross-contamination from contaminated wiping cloths and a lack of disinfection and use of sanitizers.

"I strongly recommend you review your procedures for the use of wiping cloths and implement a system that clearly identifies which cloths are for use with raw food and which are for use with ready-to-eat food."

The hospital was rated under Hull City Council's new points system, which rates all food outlets out of 100.

The score for the hospital wards & restaurant was 50 out of 100.

'WE WOULDN'T EAT ANYTHING FROM THAT KITCHEN'

13 September 2007 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust Patient and Public Involvement Forum made comments about the food available in the trust as part of feedback to independent watchdog the Healthcare Commission.

The commission publishes annual ratings on healthcare organisations.

In the section about food, the forum gave details of its observations on meals during several visits, including to ward sevenat Hull Royal Infirmaryin February this year.

The forum wrote: "It was not felt this was a safe environment for food.

"The kitchen was shabby and in poor repair.

"One glance showed very noticeable defects and dirt.

"Laminate had peeled, chipped and broken from work surfaces.

"Kick-boards were warped following water leak.

"Cupboard doors and drawers had become misaligned and the recessed handles were dirty.

"Drawers were unlined, bare wood. The insides of drawers showed encrusted spills. One held cutlery that was water stained and unappealing."

"The microwave was very dirty, inside and out, and there were stale crumbs under it.

"Meals were lying on top of the oven, thawing out.

"Members were dismayed at what they saw and would not wish to eat or drink anything that had come from this kitchen.

"Staff said they knew it was an infection control issue and that they had applied to estates for refurbishment but this had not been approved."

Ruth Marsden, chairwomen of the forum, said: "In a large organisation on multiple sites, oversight of issues is not simple.

"But in instances were the forum has had concerns, where these have been small or very large, the trust has taken it seriously and taken steps to address it."