Illegally imported beef jerky, rotting fish and a shopping trolley of defrosting seafood was found in a shop.

Shan’s Fishmonger and Butchers, in Dartford, has been given a zero star food hygiene rating after an unannounced inspection in April.

But the managers say they have made massive improvements since then and have turned things around.

Inspectors served two improvement notices on the fishmongers and one on the butchers, in the High Street, and said “urgent improvement” was necessary.

Although under the same roof, the two businesses were rated separately by Dartford council officers on the same day.

While visiting the butchers, they found illegally imported food, particularly Kilishi from Nigeria, a type of jerky, inside the shop.

The inspection report, sent to KentOnline following a Freedom of Information request, said: “This particular product is prohibited in the UK and cannot be imported legally.

“Furthermore, you failed to demonstrate from who you received this particular food.”

It is not clear in the report if the product was being sold to customers but the owners were served a regulation notice.

Speaking to KentOnline, butcher Saqab Raza said: “I do not know where it came from. I was told by the inspectors it was not made in the UK and I did not know if it was or not.”

During the visit, inspectors also found bovine kidneys which were a week out of date but thrown out imediately, cow trotters defrosting uncovered at room temperature, and a hack saw covered in dried up blood in the chiller.

Concerns were also raised over “inadequately trained staff”, lack of management documentation and cleanliness of the premises.

Mr Raza said since the inspection he has made a number of changes to address the issues raised including changing equipment and getting staff to do online training courses.

He added: “We have made a lot, a lot, of changes. We have got everything under control.”

He claims the shop was re-inspected this week and is hoping to receive a four or five star rating.

The fishmongers, which opened in 2022, was also judged on the same day and similarly received a zero star rating.

Inspectors found a shopping trolley of seafood defrosting at room temperature in the storeroom, rotting fish in a polystyrene box in the chiller, and pieces of broken wood in an uncovered container of frozen snails.

There was also food being sold with no labeling in English which the report added “is an offence”, no hot water, lack of management documentation, and no food-safe surface disinfectant.

Manager Sulieman Mohammed told KentOnline he was also expecting a re-inspection and had made a lot of changes including buying cleaning products that meet the correct standards.

He said: “We were of course disappointed to see the result but have been making changes since. We hope we will get a better rating next time. I think it will definitely show some improvements.

“We are learning the things we need to do to keep the business in a hygienic manner. We have definitely tried to address the points that were made.

“We only opened a year ago, we are not as experienced but because of that there were a lot of different things we needed to address.

“I am glad the inspector did come. They were able to help us and point out the things we needed to improve.

“We want to make it the best shop for Dartford and the local community.”