Food Hygiene Ratings / Scores on the Doors

[thetapeworm]

Apparently in Wales it's law for businesses to display their hygiene ratings for customers to see, this isn't the case in England, Scotland, Ireland but I think it should be.

FSA said:

Businesses in England and Northern Ireland do not have to display their rating. So if you see a business without a hygiene rating sticker or certificate, you’ll have to decide if you want to eat or buy food from there without knowing the hygiene standards.

Putting a hygiene rating on show is a good advertisement for businesses that meet the requirements of food hygiene law.

A good food hygiene rating is good for business.

The situation is different in Wales. Businesses that get a new rating after 28 November 2013, must by law display a sticker showing their rating in a prominent place – such as the front door, entrance or window.

A number of my local restaurants / takeaways are rated badly but you would have no idea unless you actually took the time to check. I'm sure some fall foul of the ratings system due to things that wouldn't necessarily create any risk to the general public but there must be some out there that manage to stay open despite a 0 or 1 out of 5 rating.

http://ratings.food.gov.uk
http://www.scoresonthedoors.org.uk

With the increase in online ordering and delivery services etc I can't help thinking menus and websites should also have to display this information going forward.

Would it change the way you dine out / order in or would you stick to somewhere you like on the basis that the food tastes good despite a low rating?

Is anyone reading in Wales and have you noticed any dodgy local places disappearing or felt safer dining in places proudly displaying a high rating?

Do you have any shocking ratings close to you that you weren't aware of? Is your regular eatery actually a potential pit of horror?

[sidekickdmr]

I see them everywhere around me (UK), it tends to be that the places with 4/5 stars display them with pride, the places with lower than 4 dont display them.

Ive seen a couple of 3's, never a 2/1

Im not in the slightest fussy so wouldnt bother me, but if you were you could quite easilly assume the places with no sticker were below par and not go there.

[Dromedary66]

So it would seem my local indian takeaway has a score of... 0

http://ratings.food.gov.uk/business/en-GB/533071/I...

Might give them a swerve from now on.

[thetapeworm]

Dromedary66 said:

So it would seem my local indian takeaway has a score of... 0

http://ratings.food.gov.uk/business/en-GB/533071/I...

Might give them a swerve from now on.

Scores... suggests they got:

Food Hygiene and Safety - Poor
Structural Compliance - Bad
Confidence in Management - Little

So on the first one you still have Bad and Very Bad so it could be worst, on the second one they seem unable to sort out cleanliness, layout, condition of structure, lighting, ventilation, facilities etc (but it could still be Very Bad) and finally it's "Varying record of compliance. Poor appreciation of hazards and control measures. No food safety management system"

But have you ever been ill or considered the food below par?

[giblet]

Eaten at plenty of 0 and 1 rated places in Leeds without any issues (aside from the increased waistline)!

[wijit]

I wouldn't even begin to worry about these ratings. The inspections are very seldom a surprise, and so all that is inspected/audited is how the premises are on that particular day. There is a Chinese near to me who has the window sticker with a rating of one, I use the place a lot and never had a problem. Common sense is far more reliable.

[Truckosaurus]

I suspect a lot of corporate chains/franchises get top marks purely because they can whip out a file with bits of paper that says they have policies and procedures for everything and can show they washed the dishes properly, rather than being any cleaner/safer than a 3-star place run by a fella who can barely speak English.

[Composite Guru]

I have the app on my phone, i didn't realise that the local indian takeaway was as unclean as it was. I've never had a bad curry from them but when cleanliness is a good part of the job then i won't be going back until their rating is a lot better.

[thetapeworm]

I presume if they came and inspected a normal household kitchen where some common sense is used but there aren't processes in place etc it would be a 0 or at best a 1?

[Kateg28]

wijit said:

I wouldn't even begin to worry about these ratings. The inspections are very seldom a surprise, and so all that is inspected/audited is how the premises are on that particular day.

For my OH shop (Fish and Chips) they are always a suprise. They stand in the queue alongside customers and only when they get to the front do they whip out their ID and announce they are here for an inspection. My OH doesn't mind in principle but he gets irritated as then he has to drop everything and deal with them and he has a shop full of customers who want serving (he has staff who can do it but he wants to be getting on with it).

Truckosaurus said:

I suspect a lot of corporate chains/franchises get top marks purely because they can whip out a file with bits of paper that says they have policies and procedures for everything and can show they washed the dishes properly, rather than being any cleaner/safer than a 3-star place run by a fella who can barely speak English.

It grinds my gears about some of the criteria. My OH had five stars and then lost a star because his procedures book was not in alphabetical order. He got his fifth star back at the next inspection as they decided that was a silly thing and the items that are really important (actually following the procedures, cleanliness, hygiene etc) are top notch.

[kev b]

Some places around here have never been inspected as they are not open during the day and the inspectors keep office hours due to cost saving.

Our place is kept spotless which takes a lot of time and effort but we always receive top marks, it irks me that many places with low scores never improve. There is a big emphasis on paperwork, I know that many places fake their fridge temperature records.

Visits used to be yearly, now it's 18 months or more and surprise visits are rare even if a customer complaint is lodged. What usually happens is that the business receives a phone call to inform them of the complaint and to tell them an officer will be visiting. A panic clean up will ensure that nothing is to be found and the chance is lost.

[Dromedary66]

thetapeworm said:

But have you ever been ill or considered the food below par?

No, so I did think that it's fine to carry on using them however if there's other places near me with higher ratings, and all else being equal I will give them my business. Not checked yet, in Kingsbury it wouldn't surprise me if they all score on the low side. Interesting tool that, will use it whenever I discover a new haunt.

[thetapeworm]

Dromedary66 said:

No, so I did think that it's fine to carry on using them however if there's other places near me with higher ratings, and all else being equal I will give them my business. Not checked yet, in Kingsbury it wouldn't surprise me if they all score on the low side. Interesting tool that, will use it whenever I discover a new haunt.

There is a Scores on the Doors phone app if you really get into it - I'm sad enough to sit looking for the local 0's so I can be outraged

[soad]

Composite Guru said:

I have the app on my phone, i didn't realise that the local indian takeaway was as unclean as it was. I've never had a bad curry from them but when cleanliness is a good part of the job then i won't be going back until their rating is a lot better.

Their record keeping might not be up to a scratch.

[Mobile Chicane]

I don't pay too much attention. My local pub has 5 stars for hygiene but the food is awful.

[karenhenry04]

I see the places where hygiene is there.

The food which we should be properly made in a clean area.

[thetapeworm]

karenhenry04 said:

I see the places where hygiene is there.

The food which we should be properly made in a clean area.

Welcome to Pistonheads!

[Jezzerh]

karenhenry04 said:

I see the places where hygiene is there.

The food which we should be properly made in a clean area.