Kentish Express Ashford & District
Food-hygiene stragglers must clean up their act
Health inspectors have found several food outlets in Ashford that need major improvements.
Although no eateries scored a zero food-hygiene rating, others in the local area scored just one star.
Visiting inspectors assess the hygiene of the food, the cleanliness of work surfaces and appliances, and how well management keeps cleaning records and acts on criticism.
The Food Standards Agency, which oversees the rating scheme, says zero outlets are likely to score badly against all three criteria.
A one-star rating means major improvement is necessary.
Across Kent, the number of zerostar ratings is down more than 25% on last year, when 22 outlets scored nothing.
And businesses given a one-star rating make up a tiny proportion of the 10,729 food outlets in Kent, 94% of which have three stars or above.
Local authorities are responsible for monitoring food safety standards, and most premises are visited once a year, or more regularly if a problem has been identified. The one-star outlets were: Ashford Cafe, 20 Bank St, Ashford TN23 1BE. Last inspection: 20 April 2016 New Hong Kong Kitchen, 234 Beaver Rd, Ashford TN23 7SW. Last inspection: 25 November 2015
Old Prince Of Wales, 12 New St, Ashford TN24 8UU. Last inspection: 23 December 2015
Singleton Tandoori, 1 The Singleton Centre, Hoxton Close, Singleton TN23 2GR. Last inspection: 7 October 2015
Tandoori Nights, 9 Torrington Rd Ashford TN23 7TF. Last inspection: 3 November 2015
The Pheonix, 12 Tufton St, Ashford TN23 1QP. Last inspection: 7 March 2016
The ratings in this story are accurate based on the information available on the FSA website at 6pm on Wednesday May 25. Ratings may change as further inspections are carried out.
See http://bit.ly/20Fs89b for the list of eateries across the county with a zero rating.