Eighty food outlets in the Greenwich borough have been flagged up as needing at least major improvement to their hygiene – with four in need of urgent attention.

Our gallery above shows the places where food is stored, sold or served that have been given official zero or one-star ratings in the past two years.

The ratings have been given to businesses to reflect the standards of food hygiene found when they were inspected by food safety officers from Greenwich Council.

Among the places given low scores are restaurants, takeaways, convenience stores, butchers, fishmongers, cafes, distributors and even a school.

The ratings, correct as of today (April 26), can be seen along with other details on the government’s Food Standards Agency website.

Zero stars means urgent improvement is necessary, while one star signifies major improvement is needed.

In awarding the ratings, inspectors check the following three elements:

1. How hygienically the food is handled – how it is prepared, cooked, re-heated, cooled and stored

2. The condition of the structure of the buildings – the cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities

3. How the business manages what it does to make sure food is safe and so that the officer can be confident standards will be maintained in the future

News Shopper:

RESPONSES TO THE RATINGS:

News Shopper was contacted by a Mrs Hassan from My Plaice in Avery Hill Road, New Eltham, claiming her business had been awarded two stars instead of one as we have reported above. She said My Plaice had "never ever been given a one-star". 

However, Greenwich Council has confirmed the final rating awarded after the most recent inspection was one star.

A spokesman said: "When premises are inspected, they are presented with an indicative rating which may be subject to change pending further review by environmental health. The Royal Borough of Greenwich’s environmental health team wrote to My Plaice on January 18 confirming that they received a food hygiene rating of one and what remedial action would need be to taken to increase their rating.

"Local businesses are welcome to contact the team on 0208 921 8186 or email health@royalgreenwich.gov.uk in order to understand how they can achieve a better rating.”

We have also been contacted by Tudor Barn, at Well Hall Pleasaunce in Well Hall Road, which has had its rating upgraded recently after it was temporarily reduced.

Managing director Suzie Bailey said: "We are delighted that since the completion of our refurbishment works, our rating has put back to a five-star. We would like to thank our customers for their continued support."

It is possible some of the other businesses featured above are awaiting new inspections, have changed management since being inspected or have closed in the interim. If any of them wish to post a response explaining their low rating, they can email us and we will update this page.

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