FSA pub checks are 'ill-conceived': FLVA

A new initiative that will rate the hygiene standards of pubs serving food has been labelled "ill-conceived and dangerous".

The initiative, entitled "Scores on the Doors", has been launched by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and involves local authority environmental health

officers (EHOs) inspecting food outlets.

Signs will be displayed at the entrance to the premises indicating the score achieved during the inspection.

Initially, a pilot programme will be carried out in all 33 London boroughs, plus Hull, Nottingham, Stoke, Derby, Leicester, Coventry, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Swan-sea and Belfast.

The FSA hopes the pilot programme will begin this spring, although no clear details of how the scheme will operate are available yet.

An FSA spokeswoman said: "We are still finalising the details with the local authorities concerned."

At present, EHOs will

issue an enforcement letter so that licensees failing to comply fully with food hygiene legislation can bring their premises up to standard.

The FSA spokeswoman could not say whether licensees will be given a similar period of grace under the "Scores on the Doors" scheme. If no concession was granted, it could see a pub being blighted for up to 12 months - the normal period that elapses between routine EHO inspections.

Federation of Licensed Victuallers Association (FLVA) chief executive Tony Payne described the initiative as "dangerous". He said: "Licensees take it for granted that EHOs will always find at least one thing wrong to justify their job. I think it would be unfair to award a bad mark for something quite minor."

Payne added: "I don't think there are enough officers to go around carrying out inspections of all food premises, whether it is pubs, restaurants, cafes or takeaways.

"What is needed is not EHOs going around marking people, but working together with licensees to sort out any problems."