A new data study examining the hygiene ratings of chicken shops in every London borough has mapped your chances of getting hygienic food (or not) when choosing one of London's most popular take away meals.
The study, which compiled the Food Standards Authority (FSA) hygiene ratings of numerous registered chicken shops across every London borough, gave each borough a "risk-o-meter" score based on the average hygiene rating (1 being the lowest, 5 the highest).
It showed that Richmond, one of the capital's most affluent boroughs, in fact had the lowest average hygiene ratings of any borough in London, though that was based on the one registered chicken shop there included in the study, which had a hygiene rating of 1.
Richmond's 'risk-o-meter' was consequently a daunting 80 per cent.
The study was compiled by 'Casino', who also published an emoji-laden map with their data to help track the best and worst chicken shops by London borough at a glance.
Their data showed that Havering came top, with an average hygiene rating of 4.5, and a correspondingly low risk factor of just 10 per cent.
Strong performers in south east London included Bromley (average 4.1, risk 17 per cent), Greenwich (average 3.9, risk 22 per cent) and Bexley (average 3.4, risk 33 per cent).
In south west London, the best showing came from Merton (average 3.2, risk 35 per cent), followed by Wandsworth (average 3.1, risk 38 per cent) and Sutton (average 3.0, risk 40 per cent).
Meanwhile Croydon scored an average of 2.9 and a risk of 41 per cent, and Kingston an average hygiene rating of 2.5 and a risk-o-meter score of 50 per cent.
"In England, it is optional for a restaurant or takeaway to display an FSA rating at its physical location. Instead, all ratings are available on the FSA’s website," Fiona Sinclair, the director at STS Food Safety, said following the report.
"When ordering food from Deliveroo and Uber Eats, the apps provide no mention of the ratings. This means that it’s down to the customer to do their research before tucking into a chicken burger or kebab.
"The beauty of this system is that food businesses which are not up to scratch have nowhere to hide.
"The information is public for all to see and bad practices can no longer be kept behind closed doors, especially in these days of social media. There is nowhere for a food business to hide if they are given a failing score," she added.
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