FIVE takeaways and restaurants in Derby, including a leading hotel, received zero stars in a food safety inspection.

Nearly 40 premises were inspected by city council environmental health officers last month and six scored the maximum five stars. But five failed to score any.

The Scores on the Doors scheme rates businesses for food preparation, storage, hygiene and safety.

Businesses which get no stars have not necessarily broken regulations, but will get more inspections and advice.

One which got the bottom rating was the International Hotel in Burton Road, Derby. A spokesman said: "Due to a lack of paperwork and maintenance issues on this visit our score was low. Within 48 working hours the recommendations were rectified and, to quote the environmental health inspection inspector, 'It was pleasing to see that standards had improved'. We are back to our high levels of standards and working closely with the environmental health officer to ensure these are maintained."

Other zero-rated premises were Cafe Aroma in Spondon, Hong Shing in London Road, Derby, Naseeb 5 Star Fish Bar in Holcombe Street, Derby, and Sunrise Tandoori in Brackens Lane, Alvaston.

Tat Fung, owner of Hong Shing, said the reason for his restaurant's poor rating was due to misunderstandings about paperwork and manuals. "I think it is just that we had a few mistakes because in the kitchen all the literature for keeping records and about food hygiene is in English and my parents don't understand some of it. We are sorting that out, though."

No-one from Cafe Aroma or Sunrise Tandoori wanted to comment and the Derby Telegraph was unable to contact Naseeb 5 Star Fish Bar.

Although zero stars is the worst which can be achieved under the Scores on the Doors scheme, it does not necessarily mean the premises will be closed down.

A premises can only be closed if it poses an immediate risk to public health, such as by having rats or raw sewage.

The Scores on the Doors system is instead meant to be an indication to the public of the level of food hygiene and safety standards.

Businesses are scored using four different sections, food hygiene and safety, structure and cleaning, confidence in management systems and significant risk.

Environmental health officers start with a visual inspection of the kitchen area checking for cleanliness of floors, walls, surfaces and the general state of the building.

They will then look at food storage and preparation to make sure it is being kept at the right temperature and staff are washing their hands regularly and using separate preparation boards for raw and cooked meat, for example.

Officers also look through logs kept by the restaurants which show the business's cleaning rota, daily diary, any problems encountered such as faulty fridges, and how they were resolved.

Those that received zero stars will be re-inspected more regularly that those with higher scores.