A takeaway owner has explained why his outlet was issued with a zero rating after an inspection, stressing the food served is fine and that the place is undergoing a huge refurbishment.

Smashdown at 274 Halliwell Road was handed a rating of zero-food hygiene rating after an inspection on November 16.

According to the Food Standards Agency’s website major improvement is necessary for both the cleanliness and condition of facilities and building and the management of food safety and improvement is necessary for the hygienic food handling.

Moshin Patel, manager at Smashdown said the eatery was handed a zero due to facility issues.

He said: “So we were rated a zero, but we had a revisit recently which has improved the scoring, but it hasn’t been published yet and I am not sure what the new rating is.

“But the reasoning behind the zero was because of our kitchen sink, at the time of the visit it was turned off due to a leak.

“We put a stop to the water to stop the leak and when inspectors came, I told them it was working but it was switched off and I could switch it on but because it is leaking sometimes, we have it switched off.

“I told them I was getting the work done on it and we did get the work done and the inspector came out again for the revisit and has said it is fine and not a problem."

“We have got no issues with the food, everything was checked and is done correctly.

“We are really working hard on our side, and we are now doing a whole new revamp of the shop as we really want to get that five-star rating.

“We want to get everything done on our side, we are doing all checks and then once that’s done, we are going to ask them to revisit again.

“It is what it is, but I am doing everything in my power to get things sorted on my side.

“We are hoping to have the revamp done by next week, we should have everything done, we are working quick because we want the third visit as we want to make sure we can get the highest score.”

Smashdown has been re-inspected and are awaiting a new score but are hoping once their revamp is complete, they will be re-scored for a third time.

For up-to-date food hygiene ratings, go to: https://ratings.food.gov.uk/

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