A FRIED chicken takeaway in Andover has been handed a five-out-of-five food hygiene rating - improving on its previous score of two.

Showboat Southern Fried Chicken, in Union Street, was rated 'very good' following a visit from food hygiene inspectors on May 8, 2024. The takeaway was previously graded as 'improvement necessary' after a visit on January 24.

Food safety officers rate food hygiene by the handling of food, the cleanliness and condition of the building and facilities, and the officer's confidence in the establishment.

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Showboat Southern Fried Chicken serves a range of dishes including chicken sandwiches, kebabs, burgers, wraps, vegetarian options, and apple pie.

The inspection found that good systems or checks are in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, including staff’s knowledge of food safety and that the inspector has confidence that standards will be maintained in the future.

The cleanliness and condition of the facilities and building, which includes the layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control, were found to be good.

Handling of food at the takeaway which includes the preparation, cooking, and storage of food, was found to be good.

The takeaway is owned by brothers Khalil and Amjad Barahmeh, who took over the business in 1991.

Amjad said: "We worked hard for our customers to get our rating back up. The things that we needed to do were really minimal, nothing major, I was confident that we deserved more than two last time.

"Our takeaway has an open kitchen, we have nothing to hide and we cook in front of the customers.

"We were confident that our rating would have been higher last time, but after years of experience, we found it unfair. How could they say they had no confidence in us after so many years?"

Councillor Kirsty North, portfolio holder for housing and environmental health, said: “The food hygiene inspections are an opportunity for the council to highlight any issues and areas for improvement, and work alongside businesses to make changes where needed.

"This is a good example of that work, and we are pleased that they have now achieved the top hygiene rating.

“While we understand that some businesses may not always agree with our assessment, our environmental health professionals determine the rating scores based on their expert knowledge and national guidance, which enables us to make sure that we assess all businesses fairly and consistently.

"We do, however, have an appeals process in place should any business owner believe their score is unfair or wrong, and we won’t publish the rating until we have reviewed it.

“We are required to publish the ratings on the Food Standards Agency website, to enable the public to access key information for reasons of transparency, and to incentivise businesses to maintain and improve standards.

"Many businesses will proudly display their rating score, and this can be reassuring to their customers.”