A HALESOWEN fish and chop shop has been handed a new hygiene rating.

Merchants on Halesowen Road was given a three-out-of-five rating on March 11, the Food Standards Agency’s website shows.

Its hygienic handling of food including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage was found to be 'generally satisfactory'.

The cleanliness and condition of the facilities and building was found to be 'good.'

The management of food safety - the system or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future was found to be 'generally satisfactory'. 

Ratings are published on the Food Standards Agency’s website which rates businesses from zero to five so customers can make more informed choices about where to buy and eat food.

A rating of five means hygiene standards are very good, four means hygiene standards are good, three means hygiene standards are generally satisfactory.

Two means some improvement is necessary, a rating of one means major improvement is necessary and a rating of zero means urgent improvement is required.

Other new ratings are: 

Odeon at The Embankment, Brierley Hill, was rated 5 on April 8.

Sides at Merry Hill Centre, Brierley Hill, was rated 5 on April 8.

The Coast Restaurant Bar at King Street, Dudley, was rated 3 on March 20.

Stourbridge Institute Social Club at Market Street, Stourbridge, was rated 4 on March 21. 

People can see the results of all food hygiene inspections via Dudley Council’s website or on the national ratings.food.gov.uk website.