THE general manager of a chip shop which has been hit with a one star food hygiene rating says it is “only temporary”.

Rose Avenue Fryer, which is currently operating from a van under the name Rose Avenue Express, was given the low rating following an inspection on January 8.

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The rating is the next to lowest on the zero to five scale used by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), and means “major improvement is necessary”.

Inspectors in the summary, published on the FSA website, says improvement is necessary in the cleanliness and condition of facilities and building, while in the management of food safety major improvement is necessary. Hygienic food handling was found to be generally satisfactory. After the report was published it gained a lot of attention on social media, with residents saying they would be avoiding the chippy.

The chip shop has previously been in a unit at a building in Rose Avenue, Tolladine, but due to its demolition before it is rebuilt in a row of shops on the road, the chip shop is running from a van. Harjinder Sandhu, general manager of the chip shop, said the move to the van was the reason the inspection was “not high”.

“We expect to be using the van until December,” he said.

“We have already acted on the report, and made the requirements the inspectors asked for. I have already requested another inspection, they say there is a wait of four weeks. I am used to four and five star inspections - so obviously, we expect it (the next inspection) will be higher.”

Helen Cameron, food safety manager at Worcestershire Regulatory Services, said: “The food hygiene ratings are about putting power into the hands of the public. If a business only scores one out of five, they will be given a written action plan on how to improve their standards and could face enforcement action if improvements are not made. We encourage people to alert us to any issues they find at food outlets on 01905 822799 or www.food.gov.uk.”