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FOOD HYGIENE RATINGS – WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? The Food Hygiene Ratings System (FHRS) was formally launched in England, Northern Ireland and Wales in November 2010 (a similar scheme also operates in Scotland). The idea was, and still is, to give consumers key information about outlets serving food.
THE HYGIENE RATINGS 5 4 3 2 1 0
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Very Good Good Generally Satisfactory Some Improvements Necessary Major Improvements Necessary Urgent Improvements Required
Many businesses display a green and black sticker on their door or window, telling us what their hygiene rating is. It is important to remember that businesses in England are not legally obliged to display their hygiene rating. It is obvious that a business with a rating of 5 has much better hygiene than a business rated 1 or even 0, but what exactly are these ratings based on? First of all, the Hygiene Rating is not based on customer service, culinary skill and presentation or the quality of the food. You can use the system to understand how hygienically a café or restaurant are working, but not as a guide to how tasty your meal might be. The Hygiene Rating is based on a ‘snapshot’ of the standards of food hygiene observed by a Local Authority Food Safety Officer at their most recent inspection. The officer will be basing their judgement on: • The handling of food • The storage of food • The preparation of food • Cleanliness of facilities • How food safety is managed The three major elements of an inspection are: the handling of food (how it’s prepared, cooked, re-heated, cooled, stored etc); physical conditions of the business (cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation, pest control etc) and management of food safety (processes, training and systems). The rating will be published online as well on the stickers that businesses display. The date of the last inspection should be on the back of the sticker. If you cannot see a
22 Life in... Orpington April 2022
sticker on display, you can ask a member of staff what the business’s rating was at the last inspection or check online at ratings.food.gov.uk. Sometimes there might be a difference between the rating displayed on a sticker and the rating shown online. This can be because the Local Authority hasn’t yet uploaded the most recent rating or because the business has appealed against its most recent rating and is waiting for the outcome. The types of business covered by the FHRS usually fit into one of the following categories: • Restaurants, pubs and cafes • Take-aways, food vans and stalls • Canteens and hotels • Supermarkets and other food shops • Schools, hospitals and care homes The frequency of inspections range from six months to two years, depending on factors such as the type of food handled by a business, the number of vulnerable customers served, the food processes operated by the business and the standard of hygiene seen at the last inspection. Local Authorities can monitor businesses in between inspections as well. There are some businesses that get visited by Food Safety Officers but don’t get food hygiene ratings. These include ‘low-risk’ businesses like newsagents or chemists that sell pre-wrapped goods that don’t require refrigeration, as well as childminders or businesses that offer caring services at home. If you have any concerns about the hygiene of a business or other questions and issues, you can contact Bromley Food Safety Officers by emailing food@bromley.gov.uk or see bromley.gov.uk/info/407/food_safety. Also see food.gov.uk/ safety-hygiene/food-hygiene-rating-scheme If you ever have a case of suspected food poisoning, contact your GP in the first instance as it is a notifiable infectious disease. Also consider contacting your local environmental health or food safety team.
It looks like the pandemic has changed the way we think about hygiene. According to a poll by P&G Professional, 80% of us didn’t look into how clean a shop was before buying a takeaway. Now, however, 64% rank a clean shop and good hygiene rating higher than price or customer service when deciding where to buy food from. Source: Independent.co.uk
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