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News Article Comments : BBC reveals hygiene breaches
Two major managed pub companies, Yates’s operator Town & City Pubs and Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), have taken disciplinary action against staff after food hygiene lapses uncovered in a BBC documentary.
A Yates’s site in Reading and a Harvester pub owned by M&B feature in this evening’s documentary, Rogue Restaurants on BBC1 at 8pm.
The manager and kitchen staff of the Yates’s venue have resigned while M&B has ordered an independent audit of all 156 Harvesters on the back of the BBC’s findings.
A spokesman for Town & City Pubs said: “The BBC alerted us to some problems at our Reading location.
“This lapse in hygiene and food quality is simply not acceptable.
“Since we received their correspondence the kitchen has been professionally steam-cleaned by an external contractor, the manager and kitchen team have resigned with immediate effect and external food-safety consultants have completed a detailed audit of the site and are working with the local Environmental Health Office to ensur
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Forum user 4026 31/07/2008 11:13:52  |
RE: BBC reveals hygiene breaches I cannot understand how these breaches of regulations can allowed to happen. For the BBC to even think of making this programme, there must have been complaints about venues prior to this. The manager rightly gets the blame, it's on his shoulders, but do these companies have area managers as well, who should be checking up on these things? Surely, a company as big as the ones featured have a department responsible for the training? Have there been no inspections from the local council? I like the area that I am in. We have inspections , in fact the latest was only 2 weeks ago. The system operated by my local council, is "scores on the doors". From 0 stars to 5 stars. I am happy with the 4 stars received. (5 stars, means you have the top of the range equipment and kitchen facilities) The results are on the council website for all to see. Finally, a note to these companies. You can go and check that all is well, but don't just do the checks as part of a 9 to 5 job. It has to be done prior to opening, during trade, and after trade to make sure that staff are complying with the regulations. This post replies to this thread |
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| Forum user 4026 31/07/2008 11:14:20 |
RE: BBC reveals hygiene breaches .......... edited by: Admin at: 31/07/2008 17:08:41 This post replies to this thread |
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| Liam Thomas 31/07/2008 19:36:50 |
RE: BBC reveals hygiene breaches I used to manage for MAB and I just cant believe this has happened, Due Dilligence was thier no 1 priority and Area bosses toured the premises at least once every three months... Training was there for all staff regarding hygene not only kitchen team... With such a huge estate there are always going to be the odd bad apple.... Hey ho This post replies to Forum user 4026 > RE: BBC reveals hygiene breaches |
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| Paul Neades 01/08/2008 18:39:12 |
The BBC targeted sites that had a Zero rated score by the EHO according to the scores on the doors website. For the BBC to send in undercover chefs that deliberatly drop items on the floor in a busy kitchen and film it and then the undercover reporter scoops coleslaw (not the kitchen staff) using a saucer is irrosponasble on the part of the programme makers. They send some one in to a busy pub to make a mess and film it then ask a stressed head chef what to do? A blatent set up to make good TV. Some kitchens have training issues granted but try to find a kitchen floor or a hob that is spotless on a busy weeknd with a 5k turnover on a Saturday. As we all know we do our best and use good kitchen practices to keep the customers safe. There is no excuse for some of the things shown like using the old wroten dish cloth and bad storage/prep practices. Times are hard for our trade at the moment and this will only make matters worse. Any big or small company could be caught out by this sort of programme as they will make something look wrong if there is nothing to film. This post replies to this thread |
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| Paul Neades 01/08/2008 18:59:25 |
RE: BBC reveals hygiene breaches In reply to 4026 comments. You don't have to have complaits for the BBC to visit a simple EHO score of Zero is enough for them to choose you.(Next they will aim at 4/5 stars to prove the councils wrong so watch out. You will find some area managers have 20 Pubs + to visit over a huge area so visiting everyone every month and carrying out a full kitchen audit / business review would be impossable along with devisional meetings and getting time to see the family and have a life. Local councils only have to inspect once a year on some premises or longer depending upon results, If there was a genuine risk to health then it would have served notice on the premises. Im sure the big companies will be taking your advice on kitchen checking along with the advice supplied to them by companies like CMI & PSN who carry out quartley audits on all of the big companies food houses. This post replies to Forum user 4026 > RE: BBC reveals hygiene breaches |
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martin kay 01/08/2008 19:26:54 |
RE: BBC reveals hygiene breaches Couldn't agree more. Whilst some practices were clearly unacceptable, the footage was set up. Ten days of working undercover to get 2 minutes TV of bad practice? Then again, that's how the News of the World makes money. This post replies to Paul Neades > RE: BBC reveals hygiene breaches |
