A FISH and chip shop in Brimscombe has received the lowest food hygiene rating available and has been told to make urgent improvements.

Simply Fish & Chips in London Road was handed a zero-out-of-five rating after an assessment on May 31.

Food hygiene ratings reflect the hygiene standards which are found on the day of inspection by the local authority - they are not a guide to food quality.

The three areas which are inspected by a food safety officer are food handling, the conditions of the facilities and the management of food safety

Simply Fish & Chips received ‘urgent improvement necessary’ for the management of food safety. 

Meanwhile, the shop received ‘major improvement necessary’ for the cleanliness and condition of facilities.

However, it received ‘generally satisfactory’ for hygienic food handling.

The SNJ has tried to contact the business for a comment but was unable to get through.

Ratings are given on a score from 0-5, with five being the highest.

The assessment was broken down as follows:

Hygienic food handling

Hygienic handling of food including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage

Generally satisfactory

Cleanliness and condition of facilities 

Cleanliness and condition of facilities (including having appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control) to enable good food hygiene

Major improvement necessary

Management of food safety

System or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future

Urgent improvement necessary