A POPULAR restaurant, known for their exotic meat dishes and Sunday lunch, has been given a zero hygiene rating.

The Stuffed Dormouse, which is located on Ponthir Road in Caerleon, has been given the zero rating following an inspection by a food safety officer who visited the establishment on July 12.

The newly published rating means that major improvements are necessary in the areas of food handling, cleanliness and condition of facilities and building, food safety management and system checks.

Owner Simone Ansen said the restaurant had dropped from a hygiene rating of five because of “the cleanliness of our kitchen had temporarily dipped from our usual high standards.”

She said: “The employment of a new chef brought to my attention that there had been oversights and plans were immediately put in place for improvements before the inspection that occurred three days later.

“The relevant paperwork could not be located when the inspection was taking place, which was an oversight on my part.

“Since the inspection we have had thorough deep clean by a professional cleaning company, and we have updated some equipment, whilst continually improving our kitchen to comply with new regulations.”

Businesses given ratings of zero are told that they must make urgent or major improvements to hygiene standards. The local authority food safety officer will use a number of enforcement tools as well as giving advice and guidance to make sure these improvements are made.

The food safety officer will also inform the business how quickly these improvements must be made and this will depend on the type of issue that needs to be addressed.

Ms Ansen added that she “accepted full responsibility” for the rating and added: “I have attended a level three food hygiene course, with a view to attending level four, so I can have a more inclusive and active role in the kitchen to ensure this does not happen again.

“Our new head chef has also refreshed his level three food hygiene course.

“He is working closely with environmental health, to ensure the kitchen is brought up to a standard to which we are accustomed.”

Business can ask the local authority to re-visit to get a new rating if the improvements to hygiene that the local authority food safety officer told the business about at the last inspection have been made.

Ms Ansen said that they plan to apply for another rating from Newport City Council,’s environmental health team and she thanked customers for their support through their social media account.

She said: “We thank all our customers for their continued support, and hope to return to the previous excellent standard they deserve at our establishment.

“We look forward to applying for our re-inspection so that we can return to our former excellent reputation as soon as possible, which we have maintained for many years prior to this isolated incident.”

Food hygiene ratings can be found online on the Food Standards Agency website at ratings.food.gov.uk.