Takeaway food chain Subway needs to make 'major improvements' at its Magdalen Street outlet in Norwich following a food hygiene inspection.

Scoring 1 on a scale of up to 5, the inspection was carried out by Norwich City Council on May 13.

A report revealed that salami past its use by date was found in the chiller and defrosted halal chicken was unlabelled.

Vegetable patties were left out for several hours and the lunch time temperature check had not been conducted on the day of inspection. The report warned this could lead to a risk of bacteria growth on food.

The standards of cleaning and maintenance were also non-compliant with the law in several ways. Fridge and freezer seals, the surrounds of a meatball container and gap between sheet floor and tiles were all found to be dirty.

Further inspection disclosed unclean hand-washing sinks which were incorrectly used for food preparation. The inspector was advised that peppers were washed in these sinks.

Hand washing in general was not suitably managed, and information on the proper technique was included in the report.

A Food Safety Management System document, which manages food hazards and is a legal requirement to have on site, was also not available for the inspector.

Some improvements have been made since the report. An open drain in close proximity to the food preparation area, which could lead to rat infestation, has now been fitted with a seal.

Although the report outlined changes, the breaches were not currently critical to food safety. It stated that food hygiene standards were generally satisfactory and maintained.

A Subway spokesperson said: "Subway has high food safety standards. We have very strict procedures in place to ensure that all Subway stores serve product safely and to customers' satisfaction. Following the inspection, all issues identified within the Magdalen Street store were immediately actioned and all staff retrained. The local store owner is looking forward to a follow up inspection."

Subway is the largest UK high street fast-food chain and is planning to open an additional 500 stores by 2020, there will be 3,000 stores across the UK and Ireland.