The national fried chicken chain temporarily closed the restaurant following a food hygiene inspection on June 29. The site has since reopened and is awaiting further inspection.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) currently lists the restaurant with a hygiene rating of zero.
The inspection found that ‘major improvement’ was needed in the management of food safety and in the cleanliness and condition of the premises.
Improvements were also required in the handling of food, including its preparation, cooking and storage.
Slim Chickens UK is owned and operated by Boparan Restaurant Group, which, according to BBC News, said it ‘voluntarily closed’ the restaurant after becoming ‘aware of an issue’.
The company also said ‘Since completing the work in mid-July, the restaurant has achieved exemplary hygiene scores in internal and independent audits, and we are awaiting a re-inspection by Vale of Glamorgan’s Environmental Health team.’
BBC News also reported Dr Julie Rasmussen, founder of Cardiff-based food safety consultancy Infinitas Food Safety, said a zero-rating indicated that urgent improvement was required and that a restaurant could receive another inspection within two months if new information had been received.
Rasmussen added that regulation of food businesses had become more risk-based, meaning businesses would not necessarily receive the same type or frequency of intervention: “Businesses with poorer ratings can expect more targeted inspections, while those with stronger compliance records may receive a questionnaire, telephone call or other form of assessment.”
Businesses in Wales are legally required to display their food hygiene rating prominently at their premises.
They must also provide verbal information on its rating if requested in person or over the phone.
Slim Chickens opened its first Welsh restaurant at St David’s Shopping Centre in 2018 and has since expanded to locations in Bridgend and Swansea.