Cardiff Slim Chickens branch given zero food hygiene rating

A Slims Chicken restaurant in Cardiff has been awarded a zero food hygiene rating.

The American chain restaurant in St David’s Shopping Centre shut temporarily after a food hygiene inspection on June 29, two months after it was awarded a five-star rating.

Slim Chickens UK is owned and operated by the Boparan Restaurant Group, which said it “voluntarily closed” the branch after being made “aware of an issue”.

It has now re-opened and is awaiting a re-inspection, it said.

But a food safety expert has said she was “surprised” at the sudden change of rating.

On the Food Standards Agency (FSA) website, the restaurant is currently listed as having a zero hygiene rating.

It said “major improvement” was needed in the management of food safety and the cleanliness and condition of the facility.

The FSA also said improvements had to be made in the handling of food, including when preparing, cooking and storing it.

Environmental health officers rate establishments where food is supplied, stored or eaten from zero to five, and inspections are described as a “snapshot” of the hygiene standards found at the time.

It also judges how food safety is managed more widely including a business’s training, processes and systems.