Fast food chains are 'failing on hygiene'

Jun 15 2008

HIGH street fast food chains are putting people at risk by failing to meet basic hygiene standards.

A wide-ranging survey has revealed McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Pizza Express, KFC and Nando's are falling foul of food safety laws.

Nearly 20 per cent of Pizza Hut restaurants in Britain scored low food safety ratings and one in eight Pizza Express chains failed to meet legal hygeine requirements.

The scores were slammed by experts, who warned people's lives were being put at risk by dirty restaurants due to increased chances of catching potentially fatal bugs such a E Coli 0157.

By law, all restaurants must be inspected by environmental health every two years.

They're given star ratings from zero to five. Three stars means the restaurant broadly meets legal requirements. Nearly one in 10 McDonald's scored just two stars or less along with seven per cent of KFCs.

Food safety expert Professor Hugh Pennington, of Aberdeen University, said: "It's very disappointing if the big chains fall down at all. It looks as if they're slipping through the net and cutting corners.

"They should all be scoring three or more. Anything below that is very bad because they're breaking the law.

"The big chains have resources and are interested in protecting brand names, so you would expect them to be running five stars.

"Scotland has four times more E Coli per head than England and Wales, which have more than Europe, so that's an added incentive to clean up.

"Prevention is the key. There is no excuse for the chains if they are not paying attention to food safety because they are putting the public at risk."