Hygiene scores on the doors to protect diners

Published on Saturday 28 March 2009 20:00

HYGIENE ratings are to be posted in thousands of restaurants and food shops throughout Scotland in an attempt to drive up standards and protect against food poisoning.

The Scottish Food Hygiene Information Service being introduced by the Food Standards Agency is also aimed at warning consumers of potential problems before they enter a catering or retail outlet.

About 44,000 businesses in Scotland will be covered by the scheme, ranging from sandwich shops through to high-class restaurants, hotels and pubs to supermarkets.

Following routine cleanliness inspections carried out by local councils to prevent food poisoning outbreaks, the businesses will be presented with a certificate reading either "Pass" or "Improvements Required."

They will then be urged to display the certificates in a prominent position so that they can be observed by customers.

The scheme's supporters claim that businesses which earn a Pass certificate and display it will have a clear commercial advantage over competitors. Those graded with a fail will have an incentive to quickly make improvements.

Although the new scheme is voluntary, consumer watchdogs have warned they will press for the displaying of the notices to become compulsory if businesses decline to comply.

Results of the inspections will in any case be carried on council websites to ensure that customers are not kept in the dark.

But some restaurateurs and retailers say the scheme is flawed as the certificates do not make clear how serious the hygiene problems are and businesses could be penalised for minor infringements.

Inspection regimes have an important role in maintaining restaurant reputations. It was confirmed earlier this month that staff at Heston Blumenthal's Michelin-starred Fat Duck restaurant in Berkshire continued to work while infected with norovirus and may have passed the infection on to customers.

More than 500 diners reported being ill after eating at the restaurant and the Health Protection Agency in England, which says it identified weaknesses in how staff sickness was identified and dealt with, is still investigating the cause. The restaurant was closed for two weeks but has since reopened.

More than 20 of Scotland's 32 councils have already signed up to the new inspection scheme and the rest are expected to follow suit. Detailed reports of food hygiene inspections are currently kept confidential by most councils.

Peter Midgley, head of the FSA's food law enforcement branch, said: "The primary objective is about providing better information for consumers and improving their ability to make an informed choice. We expect retailers and caterers to display them prominently as the scheme embeds itself. If they do not display them, for whatever reason, then consumers can get the same information online.

"At the moment displaying certificates is voluntary but this will be reviewed as the scheme progresses."

The information service has been piloted in five Scottish councils, which have declared the scheme a success in improving standards.

In Edinburgh, one of the pilot areas, 130 of the 1,000 businesses were issued with "Improvement Required" certificates. A council spokeswoman said the scheme had acted as a clear incentive for businesses to raise their hygiene standards to the level required to earn a pass.

Andrea Carson, principal environmental health officer with Aberdeen City Council, another pilot area, said the introduction of the service had been "very successful. We had a lot of businesses willing to display pass certificates and keen to keep them."

She conceded however that none of the premises involved had put up "Improvements Required" notices. "It is probably not the best marketing ploy," she added.

Consumer Focus Scotland has been pressing for the introduction of the scheme since 2004. Senior policy officer Mary Lawton said: "We want consumers to be better informed about where they want to eat or buy food from. This enables them to be able to tell at a glance if a restaurant or food outlet has passed hygiene inspection tests."

Glasgow City Council is about to introduce the scheme. James McNally, Executive member for Land and Environmental Services, said: "By participating in this scheme, the council will be able to offer consumers easy access to the information they need to make informed choices."

But Malcolm Duck, chairman of the Edinburgh Restaurateurs Association, said he was opposed to the introduction of the scheme and would not display the certificates."I am all for inspections because health and safety is a very important issue but I think this system will worry the public more than it informs them," he said.

"We will all "pass" at some times and all be "needs improvement" at times because there is a very fine line between passing and failing. It can be something as simple as a cracked tile.

"Bad restaurants should be shut down, there is no argument with that. But consumers may be unnecessarily worried at a time when restaurants are already facing tough times because of the recession."

While Scotland is introducing the Pass or Improvements Required scheme, England is adopting a star-ratings system. The British Retail Consortium, which represents shopkeepers, said there was no evidence that either was effective.

Food policy director Andrew Opie said: "This is being done differently in Scotland and England so retailers with outlets on both sides of the border are also concerned about the consistency of the scheme. You may also get the situation whereby within one store the deli has a different rating to the bakery. That is simply confusing for the customer."