Several restaurants and cafes in Croydon were given a hygiene rating of 0 or one from the Food Standard Agency in 2023.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is an independent government agency in the UK responsible for making sure food is safe to eat and meets their standards.

Its main role is to protect public health related to food.

The Food Hygiene Rating employs a six-point scale to assess establishments, where a rating of 5 denotes "very good," 4 signifies "good," 3 indicates "generally satisfactory," 2 suggests "some improvement is necessary," 1 implies "major improvement is necessary," and 0 represents the need for "urgent improvement."

In 2023, two establishments received a rating of zero and five received a rating of one.

Rating 0:

Banh Mi Vietnam, 20 Surrey Street – inspected December 4, 2023

Earthy Coffee, 31 George Street – inspected September 7, 2023

Neither restaurant wished to comment.

Rating 1:

Blend Coffee Shop, 1480b London Road – inspected November 11, 2023

The manager of Blend Coffee Shop said: “We’re in the process of speaking with somebody because the criteria were unfair.

“They came in and put points down that are false.

“So, we’re in a bit of a dispute since we’ve gone from 5-star rating to 1.

“We were told that we need to change the cloths when we already change them every day.

“The Food Standards Agency said that they would come back but nobody came back.

“We told the Council and are in the process of disputing it.”

Choppin Centre, 9 High Street – inspected October 12, 2023.

We couldn't get hold of Le Bon Café for a comment.  

Krunk Burgers, 79 Whitehorse Road – inspected August 17, 2023.

We couldn't get hold of Krunk Burgers for a comment.

Le Bon Café, 61 South End – inspected August 19, 2023.

We asked Le Bon Café if they wishes to comment and didn't hear back.