A burger restaurant has received the lowest possible food hygiene rating following an inspection.

Smoque Burger, at 76 Islingword Road in Brighton, received a zero food hygiene rating following an inspection on March 2.

A zero is the lowest possible food hygiene rating, meaning that “urgent improvement is necessary”, according to the Food Standards Agency.

At the time of inspection, the food safety officer assessed three areas of the business and found shortcomings across all of them.

The restaurant first opened in 2013 (Image: Google)

In the area of hygienic food handling — which covers the preparation, cooking, reheating, cooling and storage of food — the officer found that “major improvement” was necessary.

Regarding the cleanliness and condition of the facilities and building, including the layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control measures needed to maintain good food hygiene, the officer determined that improvement was necessary.

Most seriously, in the area of management of food safety, the verdict was that “urgent improvement” was necessary.

This area looks at whether adequate systems and checks are in place to ensure food sold or served is safe to eat, whether staff demonstrate sufficient knowledge of food safety, and whether the officer has confidence that standards will be upheld going forward.

Smoque Burger first opened in 2013, and also has locations in Hove and Burgess Hill.

A post shared by SMOQUE’S ™ (@smoqueburgeruk)

A spokesperson for the restaurant said that the zero rating was more about administrative errors than hygiene practices.

A spokesperson for Smoque Burger said: “We want to clarify that the score was not a reflection of poor hygiene standards but rather of administrative and process-related issues identified during the inspection.

“As soon as these were brought to our attention, we acted immediately to correct them.

“At Smoque Burger, we take food safety and compliance extremely seriously, and we are confident that our day-to-day hygiene practices remain of a high standard.

“Since the inspection, we have reviewed and strengthened our procedures to ensure full compliance across all areas.

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“Following these changes, we have already had a revisit from an inspector, who was satisfied with the improvements made.

“We have also applied for a reinspection, and we are currently awaiting our rescore visit, which we expect to take place shortly.

“We are confident that this will accurately reflect the standards we maintain.