FOUR Bridgwater restaurants and pubs have been given a ‘zero’ rating following their food hygeine inspection and told they need ‘urgent improvement’.

Inspections carried out by Sedgemoor District Council’s food safety officers gave the food businesses NO stars out of a possible five.

A further six premises were only rated one out of five and require “major improvement”, according to the Food Standards Agency, which sets the criteria for Sedgemoor District Council’s inspectors.

Food safety officers carry out inspections of businesses to check that they meet the requirements of food hygiene law.

During an inspection, the officer will check:

  • How hygienically the food is handled – how it is prepared, cooked, re-heated, cooled and stored.
  • The condition of the structure of the buildings – the cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities.
  • 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.

Premises rated zero out of five:

  • Curry Leaf, 77 Bath Road
  • Deniz Kebab House, 15 St John Street
  • Moghul Indian Takeaway, 112 St John Street
  • White Hart, 46-48 Eastover.

Premises rated one out of five:

  • Blue Fish, 1 Mountbatten House, Parkway 
  • China Palace, 19 Penel Orlieu
  • Crown Inn, 96 St John Street
  • Admirals Landing, Docks
  • Globe Inn, High Street, North Petherton
  • Riverside Cafe, 3 Binford Place

A spokesperson for the Food Standards Agency said: “Businesses with ratings of zero are very likely to be performing poorly in all three elements and are likely to have a history of serious problems.

“There may, for example, be a lack of sufficient cleaning and disinfection, and there may not be a good enough system of management in place to check and record what the business does to make sure the food is safe.

“The food hygiene rating reflects the hygiene standards found at the time the business is inspected by a food safety officer.

“If the top rating is not given, the officer will explain to the person who owns or manages the business what improvements need to be made and what action they can take to improve their hygiene rating.”

The local authority food safety officer will use a number of enforcement tools as well as giving advice and guidance to make sure these improvements are made as soon as possible.

The food safety officer will also make the business aware of how quickly these improvements must be made.

Sedgemoor’s food safety team is urging people to check the rating of a restaurant or other eating establishment before they book, with many people currently planning a romantic meal for Valentine’s Day.

A spokesperson for the council said: “Valentine’s Day is one of the most popular times for going out for a meal.

“But the truth is, you can’t tell a restaurant’s hygiene standards just by how clean and tidy the staff look or by how busy it is.

“It’s the things you can’t see like germs spread by bad hygiene practices that you need to consider.”

The Mercury tried to contact all the eateries featured and they either declined to comment or were unavailable.

Check the Food Standards Agency rating of any business that sells or serves food at www.food.gov. uk/rating