A Merseyside takeaway has been told it must "urgently improve" after being hit with a zero rating for food hygiene.
The Royal Sizzler takeaway on New Chester Road, Bromborough was inspected on February 13 and given the worst rating possible. Inspectors slapped the premises with a zero rating, meaning that "urgent improvement" is now needed.
According to the Food Standards Agency, the biggest area of concern at Royal Sizzler came in the hygienic food handling department - including the preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage of food. Urgent improvement is required in this area.
There were also concerns raised in terms of the cleanliness of facilities and the building and the management of food safety, with major improvement needed in both these areas.
A spokesperson for the business insisted that the rating was given based purely on a storage area at the back of the business and not because of issues inside the takeaway.
The spokesperson said: "We've got a revisit happening either this week or next and all the jobs have been done that were asked for. I am confident we will get a much better rating."
Royal Sizzler's previous inspection saw them given a much higher four out of five rating for food hygiene.
READ MORE: Passport gang who helped ‘Premier League’ cocaine kingpin evade capture
Food businesses are routinely inspected by local authority hygiene teams. A health officer will look at three criteria when inspecting a premises. These include how hygienically the food is prepared, cooked, re-heated, cooled and stored, the cleanliness, layout, lighting and ventilation of the building and how the business manages what it does to make sure food is safe.
Each establishment receives their rating following an inspection conducted by a food safety officer from the council. A rating of zero means urgent improvement is necessary, one means major improvement is required while two means improvement is needed. A rating of three means the premises is generally satisfactory, four is good and five is very good.
READ NEXT
Thomas Cashman murder trial resumes as man accused of shooting schoolgirl Olivia Pratt-Korbel
Woman raped in city centre alleyway near nightclub
Passport gang who helped ‘Premier League’ cocaine kingpin evade capture
Dad woke up ‘two weeks later’ after taking usual route to work
