Epsom and Ewell places in the bottom three of new analysis of nationwide food hygiene ratings, but the council claim this reflects an incomplete picture a borough’s cleanliness and enforcement of standards.

The borough has the third highest percentage of takeaways with a poor rating – between 0 and 2 – out of 355 council areas, according to data held by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which compiles hygiene inspections carried out by local councils.

With 35.9 per cent of the borough’s 53 rated businesses requiring improvement, only Newham (49.6 per cent) and Hyndburn (39.05 per cent) fared worse, according to analysis by Love My Vouchers.

From February 2016: Primary school breakfast club one of FORTY eateries which were told to improve hygiene urgently or close

But a spokesman for Epsom and Ewell Borough Council said the borough’s low scores merely highlighted the diligence of its inspectors and that comparisons based on percentages reflected unfairly on a small borough with fewer than 500 food businesses.

Nearly half of the borough’s rated establishments (49.06 per cent) were rated 4 or above, the spokesman pointed out.

A council spokesman said: “Our inspectors are diligent in safeguarding the public and demand that standards within this borough are fully met, those who fail to meet these standards get the lower level of ratings and may be issued with notices and/or be taken to court.

“Equally those who initially had a low score but who then go on to achieve an improvement are to be praised for their efforts.”

Linda Firth, a Director at LoveMyVouchers.co.uk added, “The study was conducted to raise awareness about the importance of food hygiene ratings, as they are not always obvious for takeaways, particularly in England.

“Many of the top food ordering websites do not currently display the ratings, so customers need to be mindful of this when they are ordering food.”

It is currently not a requirement for establishments in to display their food hygiene rating.

Epsom and Ewell Borough Council urges residents to check the Food Standards Agency website where all the ratings in the UK are available.

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