'Urgent improvement necessary' at pizza shop with turbulent food hygiene history after 0* rating

A Middlesbrough takeaway has received a zero star rating on its most recent food hygiene inspection.

The Pizza Shop, located on Linthorpe Road, was visited by inspectors on September 26, and the rating of zero means “urgent improvement necessary”. It is the worst possible outcome on a scale of zero to five.

1,129 takeaways, restaurants and shops in Middlesbrough have food hygiene ratings, of those, seven different establishments have a food hygiene rating of zero. The other location in Middlesbrough to have received a zero star rating in September was a branch of the Heron Foods supermarket on Eastbourne Road.

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The Pizza Shop was rated across three categories, the first of which was “hygienic handling of food including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage”. This was rated as “urgent improvement necessary”, as was the “cleanliness and condition of facilities and building”.

The management of food safety was the third and final category. This was rated one level higher than the other two measures as “major improvement necessary”.

Teesside Live contacted The Pizza Shop for a comment. The venue has had a turbulent hygiene history in recent years.

It has previously received a one rating stamp for food hygiene after an inspection on August 18, 2021, which meant a major improvement was necessary. The pizza shop was then given a zero-star rating by Middlesbrough Council after an inspection in February 2022. Last year, the eatery was handed a two star rating.

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