AN award-winning restaurant has been given one of the lowest food hygiene scores following a recent inspection. 

The Whitebrook in Monmouth, which was one of only six UK restaurants to be awarded a Green Michelin star earlier this year, has recently been given a poor food hygiene rating. 

The Whitebrook also retained its Michelin Star for the 10th consecutive year back in February. 

The inspection, which took place on Friday, September 20, gave the Whitebrook a food hygiene score of one. 

The Food Hygiene Rating Act 2013 became law in Wales on March 4, 2013, requiring all businesses selling food in Wales - including pubs, cafes, restaurants, hotels, takeaways, schools, hospitals, canteens, care homes and corner shops – to display hygiene ratings in a prominent place, and to provide the information verbally if requested over the phone.

Inspections are carried out by the local authority officers, and ratings - from zero, meaning urgent improvement is necessary or they may risk closure; to five, meaning standards are excellent - are updated on the FSA website. Businesses have the right to appeal against ratings. 

Each inspection is carried out under three categories - hygienic food handling, which covers preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage, cleanliness and condition of facilities and building, covering including having appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control, and the management of food safety, which is defined as the system or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future. 

According to these ratings, the Whitebrook is deemed to have necessary improvement required in both the categories of  hygienic food handling and cleanliness and condition of facilities and building.

They were deemed to need major improvement necessary in the management of food safety category. 

A spokesperson for Cuff Communications, the PR agency responsible for the Whitrebrook, gave a broken handwash basin and digitized paperwork as the reasons for the poor rating. 

They said: "At the time of inspection, the handwash basin was not working, but on the second inspection it was fully functioning. Nonetheless this is an automatic low score.

"They were also penalised for their digitized paperwork, which is odd as this is standard procedure now.

"The Whitebrook have replied for a rescore."

It is unknown when the Whitebrook's rescore will be confirmed.