Wolverhampton's food hygiene scores are revealed

None of the 1,140 restaurants, takeaways, shops, and other food retailers in the city which have been assessed by the Food Standards Agency were given a 'zero' rating which would indicate urgent improvements were necessary.

And more than 99 percent of outlets scored between 'three' and 'five' meaning they are considered at the least 'generally satisfactory.'

But there were seven businesses deemed to need 'major improvement' having received a 'one' rating, and a further two which also need to improve having being scored a 'two' rating following an inspection.

The lowest scoring restaurants, shops and caterers in the city, were: Choice Superstore, in Parkfield Road, Parkfields, which as assessed on February 16; Copper Bowl, in Birmingham New Road, Parkfields, inspected on May 9; India Gates, in Mount Pleasant, Bilston, inspected on December 18 last year; Jason Alldritt Catering, private address, inspected on February 11; Tandoori Nan, in Sweetman Street, Whitmore Reans, inspected on March 22; The Grain Store, in King Street, city centre, inspected on February 16; and The Stile Polish Restaurant, in Harrow Street, Whitmore Reans, inspected on April 14.

'Two' ratings, where improvement is deemed necessary, were given to: Bruford Arms, in Bruford Road, Penn Fields, as assessed on January 14; and Dawat in Cleveland Street, city centre, inspected on the same date.

Officers visit businesses to check how well they are meeting standards by looking at how hygienically food is handled, how suitable their buildings and facilities are and how the business manages and records to make sure food is safe.

Each inspection is given a standard from 'zero' to 'five' which range from 'urgent improvement necessary' for zero to 'very good' for five.

An impressive 998 restaurants and shops in the city have a 'five' rating.

Councillor Steve Evans, Cabinet Member for City Environment at Wolverhampton council, said the city's high hygiene standards are a result of the authority's method of working with businesses and offering advice.

He said: "It is pleasing that so many cafes, restaurants, hotels, takeaways and other food retailers in Wolverhampton are demonstrating such good food hygiene practices – this is good news for them, and good news for their customers.

"Our efforts are now very much focused on helping food business proprietors produce safe food. Our environmental health officers work closely to support outlets, advising them on how to make the necessary improvements through practical demonstrations, media, worked examples and so on to help businesses both understand and comply with their legal obligations across a wide range of factors.

"Clearly, there will always be a small number of businesses which seek to avoid the obligations of complying with the law and we won't hesitate to deal with those robustly, but thanks to our new way of working, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of four and five star rated premises."