FS 004

It seems to work in the USA!

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) is considering lobbying for the introduction of 'a scores on doors' policy to drive up food hygiene standards in restaurants.

The practice of posting hygiene scores on a public website is used in the USA - with apparent success. In New York, over six months, the rate for routine hygiene inspections being satisfactory has gone up from 21% to 63%.

The information also included hygiene infringements from the last inspection. The website [http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/rii/index.html] is user friendly and allows prospective customers to search for clear information that allows them to differentiate between establishments that follow good food safety practices and those that do not- very helpful for tourists. In Los Angeles, restaurants improved their hygiene levels, once ratings became public. The best
restaurants became better, and the most dramatic improvement occurred in the establishments with the worst hygiene standards.

As the main driver for running a food business is to make a profit and not to go out of business anything that improves profitability is to be welcomed.

In the USA 46% of money spent on food is spent in eating out, and on a typical day 44% of adults eat out. As the UK is beginning to follow these trends, hygiene ratings might provide an incentive to raise standards. The 'A' graded (best) Los Angeles restaurants increased their sales by 5.7% or $15,000 whereas the worst (Grade 'C') fell by 1%.

A recent report in"Which?" (July Issue 2004) the Consumers' Association endorses the need for a system in the UK like that in the USA.

"Which?" accompanied EHO's on inspections of ten food establishments in Birmingham, Cambridge and London, in response to complaints. Although the establishments could not be named, "Which?" cited a range of serious hygiene failings in its report, found during the inspections, ranging from pest infestation, to cross-contamination in food storage risks.

Some local authorities are already publishing information. The London Borough of Elmbridge rewards food businesses that meet high standards of hygiene observed during routine inspections.

Businesses receive an award if they score well in the risk assessment of their premises. The risk assessment looks at the type of food and the number of people being served, to give a score for the type of premises. Premises are also graded on compliance with hygiene and safety requirements, structural requirements and confidence in the management control of food safety risks. Scores range from 0 being very good, to 25 being very bad.

Silver awards are given where a premises achieves one or two zeros, out of a possible three. Gold awards are given where a premises achieves all three zeros, demonstrating the attainment of high standards in all areas of food control.

There are currently seven Gold and ten silver award winners in the borough (30.09.2004)
[Full Report:
http://www.elmbridge.gov.uk/services/environment/hygienawards.htm]