THE town centre branch of a popular pizza chain has been handed a two-star food hygiene rating.

The results of an inspection of Papa Johns Pizza on Buttermarket Street have now been published by the Food Standards Agency.

Following a visit by representatives on June 21, the FSA handed the branch a score of two-out-of-five.

The venue was inspected on three category areas – hygienic food handling, cleanliness and condition of facilities and building, and management of food safety.

The first involves the hygienic handling of food, including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage.

The second inspection area looks into the cleanliness and condition of the facilities and building, including having an appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control, to enable good food hygiene.

Lastly, inspectors looked at 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.

In terms of hygienic food handling and management of food safety, the Buttermarket Street Papa Johns was said to be ‘very good’.

However the cleanliness and condition of facilities and building saw inspectors rule ‘improvement necessary’.

The score for the venue is visible on the FSA website.