Half of Ipswich’s late night eateries have received full marks following their most recent visit from the council’s food hygiene inspectors and have been awarded a five-star award - while one received zero stars

Out of 111 late night takeaways in the town, 72 received five stars, 21 received four stars, 11 received three stars, three received two stars and one received a single star.

Best Kebab & Pizza, in Dogs Head Street, was the only takeaway to receive zero stars. They were last visited on Wednesday, June 20 and inspectors told them they needed to take urgent action to improve. The food safety officer ruled the management of food safety needed urgent improvement while the foood handling processes all required major improvements to meet guidelines set by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

The owner of Best Kebab & Pizza, who only gave his name Hemn, said they have made changes since receiving the zero rating and they are expecting another visit in due course, which was confirmed by a representative of Ipswich Borough Council.

Safety officers from the council routinely visit all registered food businesses in the town, and results are published online as well as being displayed at the venues.

The ratings range from zero to five – zero requires ‘urgent’ improvement and one means ‘major improvement required’.

Perfect Kebab House received a two-star hygiene rating in September this year, with improvement necessary.

Owner of the shop Dara Ahmed said he was unhappy with the result and believes he was wrongly rated when the council visited.

Speaking about the rating, a staff member said: “The microwave was messy and meat was placed too high up in the fridge and needed to be on a lower shelf.”

Mr Ahmed said he is expecting a follow-up visit from the food inspectors on Wednesday, December 19.

He said: “We will get no less than a four as everything is perfect, everything is clean – I am sure of it.”

Mr Ahmed, who has owned the company for the last four years, said he has consistently been given five stars since taking over the shop and was disappointed by the “mistake” made during the previous inspection.

Another takeaway to be given a two-star rating was was Michael’s takeaway, which was visited in February this year.

The food safety officer said the food handling and cleanliness and condition of the facilities required improvement. Staff member May Choi said: “We have been cleaning regularly, the shop now gets cleaned everyday so there shouldn’t be any problems anymore.”

The owner was unavailable for comment at this time.

Speaking of the food hygiene reports, an Ipswich Borough Council spokesman said: “We raise and maintain food hygiene standards across the town and offer help and advice to a wide range of businesses. The food hygiene ratings scheme gives customers the confidence to use restaurants, takeaways and other places selling or serving food. Just look for the sticker in the window.”

There can be a delay between inspections taking place and ratings being posted on the FSA’s website. The information in the searchable table is correct as of December 2018.

Some of the businesses named may have since closed or changed ownership. Others are yet to be inspected and a small number are considered “exempt”, such as those not generally considered to be food businesses.