Danish food authority: Kebab and shawarma bars have cleaned up their act

All 1,195 shops in Denmark selling the popular fast food have been inspected

In an extraordinary nationwide campaign the Danish food authority Fødevarestyrelsen has inspected all 1,195 kebab and shawarma bars in Denmark and found that standards have improved since the last widespread hygiene checks, DR reports.

The campaign follows seven cases of e-coli poisoning at the beginning of the year that are thought to have come from eating shawarma.

Annette Perge, a section head at Fødevarestyrelsen, said that the shops had successfully improved standards following a food hygiene initiative.

“Our inspection fortunately shows that the efforts to rectify the shops’ handling of foodstuffs have worked,” she said.

When a similar campaign was run in 2014 less than 70 percent of the visited shops received the happiest smiley rating (indicating the highest food standard practices). This time more than 80 percent received the top rating.