Shock Results From Hygiene Investigations   More than half the restaurants inspected in a street known as restaurant row in Brighton were found to be in breach of food safety laws. One Chinese restaurant had left food to dry in open containers in a cockroach-infested basement when inspectors came to call. While some of the restaurants won praise, others were told to take immediate action to meet minimum food safety standards. Environmental health officers found mouldy fridges, raw and cooked foods stored together, dirty walls, floors and surfaces. Some restaurants had nowhere for workers to wash their hands, while others had no hot water or disinfectant. One shop had no washbasin in its toilet. Pest control, waste disposal, hygiene, cleanliness, record-keeping and food storage were among the other areas cited in reports. Brighton and Hove City Council staff visited 38 restaurants, shops and bars between January 1 last year and May 10 this year, according to papers released under the Freedom of Information Act reported the local newspaper. Some came in for praise: Thai Garden and Thai Orchid were praised for "high" and "good" standards respectively, while Nishat Tandoori's inspection was "satisfactory" and cleanliness was praised at Akash Tandoori. Of the restaurants inspected, 28 did not have a satisfactory written food safety management system, which became obligatory on January 1 last year. Inspectors found eight of the restaurants needed to take action to meet legal requirements over pest control. Eighteen restaurants were told to ensure staff had basic food hygiene training. Food was being stored for too long, or at the wrong temperature, in ten of the restaurants. Ten were told to take action over how they disposed of waste oil - with one restaurant admitting it illegally poured used cooking oil down the drain. Nine were storing eggs at room temperature, even though the latest government advice is to keep them in the fridge. Hygiene inspection reports were not produced for Sushi Garden, Cafe International, Chequers, RDF or Medusa. When an inspector visited China Garden on October 11 last year, he found open food drying in a basement while the restaurant was in the grips of a cockroach infestation. But he did praise the restaurant for taking action over the infestation. Top