Swindon premises shamed for poor food hygiene

A Mexican restaurant, two kebab takeaways, an Oriental restaurant and a hotel are some of the latest venues to receive zero stars for food hygiene in Swindon.

La Casa Mexican restaurant and takeaway in Devizes Road and Cosmo Oriental restaurant in Linden Court have both received the lowest possible scores from Swindon Borough Council's Commercial Regulation Team.

The kebab takeaways are Walcot Kebab and Pizzeria in Sussex Square, and Oriental Express in Clive Parade. The hotel is the Ivy Hotel, Moormead Road, Wroughton. They make up a list of the top ten worst food businesses that have received a zero star rating for hygiene this year.

The premises were graded under the council's Scores on Doors scheme
Food businesses are awarded stars to show how well they comply with food safety legislation. The scheme is based directly on the risk assessment that is carried out by law during a food inspection.

Under the scheme, a score of one star is deemed poor, two is satisfactory, three is good, four is very good and five is excellent.

Zero stars indicate unacceptable hygiene conditions and almost total non-compliance with statutory obligations. Premises with zero star ratings are often found to have poor hygiene, poor cleaning and risk of cross contamination. In the most serious cases, the Council has the authority to use emergency closure powers.

Cllr Colin Lovell, cabinet member for a safer and stronger borough, said: "The majority of Swindon food businesses do comply with the law and many are very good indeed. Unfortunately a small minority have shown to have very poor standards during the unannounced inspections.

"Star ratings will hopefully give the public more confidence in the places they eat and give them a better understanding of the standards of food hygiene. Hopefully this scheme will encourage businesses to maintain a good standard."

Words: Maria Bracken

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