A BUFFET restaurant in Southend has been ordered to make urgent improvements after inspectors raised concerns that customers were “at risk of food poisoning” after spotting flies around the serving area.

South Sea Express Cuisine, based in Alexandra Street, has been given the lowest possible food hygiene rating - zero - following an inspection by Southend Council.

Inspectors found a number of issues around food safety management, as well as describing cleaning at the restaurant as “unsatisfactory”.

One major concern raised by inspectors in their report was the discovery of flies around a display cabinet in the front servery area.

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The report stated: “At the time high-risk ready-to-eat foods such as coleslaw, salads, sweet rice, and watermelon were uncovered and at risk of contamination.

“Flies carry food poisoning bacteria and can contaminate food and food surfaces that they land on.”

Since the inspection, which took place in August, the council’s environmental health team have continued to make regular visits to the site to ensure improvements are being made.

The restaurant, which also provides a takeaway service, offers a range of dishes, including Chinese, Indian, Turkish and Italian.

Inspectors also found customers were at further risk of suffering the symptoms of food poisoning due to the temperature some food was being kept at.

The report continued: “At the time of inspection large quantities of rice and egg fried rice were being kept on display within the display cabinet in the front servery area below 63°C.

“At these temperatures any spore forming bacteria such as Bacillus Cereus present may begin to germinate and grow leading to production of toxins.

“This may result in your customers suffering the symptoms of food poisoning.

“Chilled high-risk ready-to-eat foods such as coleslaw and sweet rice were observed being stored in the display unit in the front servery area at 20°C.

“These foods are high-risk and will support the growth of food poisoning bacteria and / or their toxins must be kept at or below 8°C.”

The report also branded the level of food hygiene awareness among staff “inadequate”.

The Echo contacted the restaurant for comment but did not receive a response.