Unhygienic eatery chains found widespread

LONDON, June 14 (UPI) -- Government officials say many of Britain's top franchise chain restaurant outlets do not meet basic food safety and hygiene standards required by law.

Local councils have found that a third of the Yo! Sushi restaurants and 20 percent of the Pizza Hut franchises surveyed did not meet all of the hygiene standards legally required, The Independent reported Saturday.

The same held true for 18 of the 132 Pizza Express franchises surveyed, the newspaper said.

All British restaurants undergo inspections every two years and are rated on a five-star environmental health scale, with zeros stars being the worst rating and five stars being the best. The Independent said it analyzed the star ratings of 1,270 outlets run by 10 restaurant chains and used Freedom of Information Act information to obtain government reports on the most unhygienic restaurants.

The Japanese seafood chain Yo! Sushi was the worst performer of the 10 chains. Eight of 23 restaurants in its sample, representing two-thirds of its 37 total British outlets, received two stars or less.