How clean is your kitchen?
Scores on the Doors - nothing to do
with Kim and Aggie and not a Generation Game-style initiative. It's serious. If you're not familiar with the scheme then read
on, this article could save your business. Lucy Britner reports
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced a single nationwide scores-on-the-doors scheme should be put in place to make food business hygiene ratings available to consumers.
The decision was based on experience with more than 100 schemes that have been running as pilots in the past two years.
Scores on the Doors is a database that collates information on food hygiene inspections from local authorities. The aim is to promote food safety and empower consumer choice by giving the general public better access to inspection reports, under the Freedom of Information Act.
Dame Deirdre Hutton, chair of the FSA, says: "Scores on the Doors is an important step in empowering consumers to make informed choices about the food they eat. The pilot schemes have provided valuable data to inform the decision of the FSA board.
"Our data shows that the introduction of a single nationwide scheme is clearly supported by all stakeholders and we will work with local authorities and food businesses across the country to put this in place."
At present, the FSA is recommending a voluntary approach to displaying scores.
"At this stage the agency does not believe advocating a mandatory approach would be in line with the principles of better regulation," adds Deirdre.
The next step is a 12-week consultation which will be made available on the FSA website.
Once the consultation has closed and the agency has reviewed responses, it will work with local authorities to finalise and implement the scheme.
The FSA will consult on two possible schemes:
l A four-tiered system, with three stars and a fail rating
l A three-tier scheme with "pass" or "improvement required" certificates being issued, alongside a fail rating - as per the scheme which has been piloted in Scotland.
Perry Huntley, head of food at Laurel Pub Company, is in favour of Scores on the Doors but expresses surprise that there are still two proposed schemes. He says: "I think this will be confusing for consumers and I am very surprised that there are still two initiatives."
Thousands of food outlets, including pubs, have already been rated according to several different pilot schemes that have been trialled across the country.
Joseph Leivers, bar manager of gastropub the Larwood & Voce, West Bridgford, Notting-hamshire, is proud of his five-star hygiene rating. He says: "It sets a standard that we should all work to. A cleaner environment is a more efficient one.
"All staff are given an induction pack when they join and this includes health and safety information. Kitchen staff are responsible for things like risk assessment and stock rotation forms and these are kept in the kitchen."
Sarah Walker, deputy manager of JD Wether-spoon pub the Flying Standard, in Coventry, is pleased with her three stars out of three rating, but says that the current varying scoring system between councils might be confusing to customers: "It's a good idea. We display our certificate in the windows near all entrances.
"It helps that we're part of a managed operator (JD Wetherspoon) because we have quarterly audits from our area manager and the company has a nationwide system in place," she says.
"The only problem is that because we have three stars, some people who are familiar with the five-star system might think that this is a fairly average score."
JDW manager Vicki Swanson from the William Stead in Darlington achieved five stars and JD Wetherspoon spokesperson Eddie Gershon says: "Wetherspoon takes great care and spends a lot of time and resources on making sure
pubs are in top condition. We're more than happy for the general public to find out what the authorities think of our pubs. Lots of our pubs have achieved high scores."
Another issue is that the scheme ratings aren't a reflection of the standard of food served and Gordon Ramsay's Boxwood café at the Berkeley, London, received just one star out of five - and we're not talking Michelin. The website reads: "Poor level of compliance with food safety legislation. Much more effort required."
Marco Pierre White also fell behind the local McDonald's, achieving two stars out of five for L'Escargot on Greek Street, in London's Soho.
Laurel's Perry Huntley says that although there is no correlation between food quality and hygiene scores, consumers have the right to expect clean kitchens.
"Customers visit branded places or celebrity chef outlets for consistency and reassurance that their money is going to be well spent.
"From an operations point of view, it might be annoying if the inspection takes place when the team is having an 'off-day' - especially as secondary inspections don't affect the star rating."
Perry also said that high staff turnover and language barriers make training more of a challenge. "It must be really hard for the smaller independents to keep up."
A Lancashire licensee hit back at his local council after he received a zero rating for his pub. Nicholas Moore from the Royal Arms pub in Tockholes near Blackburn complained that his poor hygiene rating appeared on the Darwen Borough Council website 10 months after environmental health officer (EHO) inspections, and since then the pub had been bought up to scratch.
He told the Lancashire Telegraph: "They came to inspect us in November 2006, and found the roof was leaking. "Then in June they paid us a spot visit and gave us a clean bill of health. We are a small pub in the middle of nowhere and this hit us like a bolt out of the blue."
The council explained that the score reflects the primary inspection.
The pros
Well, it's a great reward if you do well.
It also highlights pubs that need to improve, possibly giving your business a targeted focus.
As for the consumers, they can make informed choices about the places they eat.
If you don't do so well, then ensuring you get up to speed with the pub down the road will be a more positive incentive than a court order.
The cons
The British Beer & Pub Association has expressed fears that the scheme will become a legal requirement. The BBPA presented a petition to Parliament, saying the law would "place a significant and unnecessary burden" on food businesses because consumers would see the system as an "indication of quality" as opposed to a legal requirement.
All star ratings follow an unannounced primary inspection. If changes need to be made, a secondary inspection may take place, but the star rating listed on the website will remain the result of the primary inspection.
Adam French, senior environmental health officer for Derby City Council, says: "Some local authorities accept payment for re-inspection but we don't do this as we believe it would undermine the scheme, effectively rewarding people after the event and thus potentially penalising those food businesses that get it right the first time at the unannounced inspection."
Sam Pedder, head of food at tenanted and leased pubco Admiral Taverns also pointed out problems with the scheme. She says the scheme is underdeveloped. "While I think that it is good for the public to have a clear system to recognise good hygiene practice, the system is underdeveloped and as such can be unfair on the operator," she says.
"For example, if I bought a pub from someone else and they had a poor rating, I would automatically inherit that rating and there is no commitment from the authorities to change that rating in a rapid time frame.
"Longer term I think that the practice has merit, however I think further work is required. We encourage the use of Safer Food Better Business in our pubs which is a good simple system developed by the FSA for employing Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP) in a food env
