Dodgy food hygiene ratings

Author
Discussion

21TonyK

Original Poster:

12,085 posts

218 months

Monday 7th October 2024
quotequote all
Looks like they've finally realised places lie through their teeth about this...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3wp46l3gv4o

Surprised a major player like Sainsburys got caught up in it.

Where I live (Torbay) we have some of the worst ratings in the region, possibly the country.


Scarletpimpofnel

961 posts

27 months

Monday 7th October 2024
quotequote all
Piece on the news this lunchtime about it. They showed places mostly in East London (mainly immigrant type food places) with the staff all lieing through their teeth about what their rating was. Time for big fines for misleading the public, or licensing like with taxis.

That said it's not hard to tell what a places food hygiene is like just by looking around the place... or the toilets.

Mobile Chicane

21,393 posts

221 months

Monday 7th October 2024
quotequote all
About time this sort of thing got more attention.

The whole system is rotten, though.

I reported a local food business with a long list of examples of poor practice I had personally witnessed; many of which should have resulted in closure, yet on inspection day, the EHO failed to observe any of them... scratchchin

And yes, that business had the '5' rating displayed, from 2019...

Caddyshack

12,047 posts

215 months

Monday 7th October 2024
quotequote all
I heard a rumour that one of the Indian restaurants on weyhill in HASLEMERE had a low rating, I looked on the door and it says it has a 4, I just looked up the last inspection and it shows a 2 from 2024.

FMOB

1,994 posts

21 months

Monday 7th October 2024
quotequote all
The local papers down here publish the results of the inspections along with the name of the establishment that achieved them.

If an outlet gets a bad score everyone knows about it so it can't be hidden as per the BBC story.

dudleybloke

20,553 posts

195 months

Monday 7th October 2024
quotequote all
FMOB said:
The local papers down here publish the results of the inspections along with the name of the establishment that achieved them.

If an outlet gets a bad score everyone knows about it so it can't be hidden as per the BBC story.
Same here, Dudley council are pretty hot about food hygiene and they inspect places fairly often.

Ham_and_Jam

2,728 posts

106 months

Monday 7th October 2024
quotequote all
Mobile Chicane said:
About time this sort of thing got more attention.

The whole system is rotten, though.

I reported a local food business with a long list of examples of poor practice I had personally witnessed; many of which should have resulted in closure, yet on inspection day, the EHO failed to observe any of them... scratchchin

And yes, that business had the '5' rating displayed, from 2019...
It would be a strange system that a member of Joe public could request a food business be shut down because they had ‘seen something’.

Surely the correct way is for a qualified person to investigate via an inspection.

dickymint

26,250 posts

267 months

Monday 7th October 2024
quotequote all
The daft thing is that in England it's not compulsory to have the rating sticker on display!! It is in Wales.

number2

4,590 posts

196 months

Monday 7th October 2024
quotequote all
They aren't undertaken frequently enough if my local restaurant listings (on the FSA website) are anything to go by.

Surely if they score 0-1 they should be closed until they retest at an acceptable score?

Ham_and_Jam

2,728 posts

106 months

Monday 7th October 2024
quotequote all
number2 said:
They aren't undertaken frequently enough if my local restaurant listings (on the FSA website) are anything to go by.

Surely if they score 0-1 they should be closed until they retest at an acceptable score?
Frequency of visits are determined by previous scores and the sector the establishment sits in, generally 6 months to 2 years.

A score of zero or one will trigger a re-inspection to confirm the corrective action has been undertaken. This can be as soon as 7 days, but more often 4 weeks. If there is an immediate risk to public health they will be served a closure notice.


Ham_and_Jam

2,728 posts

106 months

Monday 7th October 2024
quotequote all
dickymint said:
The daft thing is that in England it's not compulsory to have the rating sticker on display!! It is in Wales.
I agree, it should be compulsory.

Mobile Chicane

21,393 posts

221 months

Tuesday 8th October 2024
quotequote all
Ham_and_Jam said:
Mobile Chicane said:
About time this sort of thing got more attention.

The whole system is rotten, though.

I reported a local food business with a long list of examples of poor practice I had personally witnessed; many of which should have resulted in closure, yet on inspection day, the EHO failed to observe any of them... scratchchin

And yes, that business had the '5' rating displayed, from 2019...
It would be a strange system that a member of Joe public could request a food business be shut down because they had ‘seen something’.

Surely the correct way is for a qualified person to investigate via an inspection.
Chef.

Ham_and_Jam

2,728 posts

106 months

Tuesday 8th October 2024
quotequote all
Mobile Chicane said:
Chef.
No idea what you’re on about

Mobile Chicane

21,393 posts

221 months

Tuesday 8th October 2024
quotequote all
Ham_and_Jam said:
No idea what you’re on about
I know the standards food businesses should be working to.

Ham_and_Jam

2,728 posts

106 months

Tuesday 8th October 2024
quotequote all
Mobile Chicane said:
I know the standards food businesses should be working to.
They will investigate from your observations, not take direct action.

Mobile Chicane

21,393 posts

221 months

Tuesday 8th October 2024
quotequote all
Ham_and_Jam said:
Mobile Chicane said:
I know the standards food businesses should be working to.
They will investigate from your observations, not take direct action.
Which is exactly what happened.

Though I maintain the EHO 'left their glasses at home', as the establishment concerned was rated a 3 when it really should have been a 1 or zero.

Perhaps the paperwork is too much hassle, and it's easier to give informal improvement advice? Asking around, there do seem to be notable differences to how standards are applied by different local authorities.






Edited by Mobile Chicane on Tuesday 8th October 19:52

Ham_and_Jam

2,728 posts

106 months

Tuesday 8th October 2024
quotequote all
Mobile Chicane said:
Which is exactly what happened. As stated previously.
I don’t understand your problem then.
You saw something you weren’t happy with. They investigated.

Not all investigations will result in a prosecution. Sometimes their investigations don’t confirm your observations, sometimes they will see something, but will educate the owners in better procedures / training.

They don’t always use a big stick.

Edit - your post was edited after I posted. - I can’t comment on your local authority, but generally EHOs have a very tough time. The number of inspections they have to do is increasing year on year. Certainly some establishments do not seem to adhere to the standards at even the basic level. This maybe why some that are not causing health risks are not pressed too hard.



Edited by Ham_and_Jam on Tuesday 8th October 19:59


Edited by Ham_and_Jam on Tuesday 8th October 20:01

Mobile Chicane

21,393 posts

221 months

Tuesday 8th October 2024
quotequote all
Ham_and_Jam said:
Mobile Chicane said:
Which is exactly what happened. As stated previously.
I don’t understand your problem then.
You saw something you weren’t happy with. They investigated.

Not all investigations will result in a prosecution. Sometimes their investigations don’t confirm your observations, sometimes they will see something, but will educate the owners in better procedures / training.

They don’t always use a big stick.

Edit - your post was edited after I posted. - I can’t comment on your local authority, but generally EHOs have a very tough time. The number of inspections they have to do is increasing year on year. Certainly some establishments do not seem to adhere to the standards at even the basic level. This maybe why some that are not causing health risks are not pressed too hard.



Edited by Ham_and_Jam on Tuesday 8th October 19:59


Edited by Ham_and_Jam on Tuesday 8th October 20:01
I know EHOs have a huge workload. Ever asked to do more with less. (Aren't we all.)

However I can't help thinking that in some cases they are 'overlooking' practices which could put the public at serious risk.