Elmbridge Borough Council's 'Food Hygiene Ratings' Scheme - Frequently Asked Questions

• |What is the 'Food Hygiene Ratings' scheme'?
• |What determines the timing and format of the Council's inspection of food businesses?
• |How is the star rating calculated?
• |Which businesses will get a star rating?
• |How can you be sure that the food enforcement officers get it right?
• |Why is Elmbridge Borough Council introducing this scheme?
• |Is this a national scheme?
• |Are there any food businesses which are not on the website?
• |Do businesses have to display their star rating?
• |Will food businesses be surprised by their published star rating?
• |Do you expect some food business operators to be aggrieved by their published rating?
• |What happens if a business disagrees with the star rating?
• |Can the star rating be changed?
• |Why do businesses need to pay for requested additional inspections?
• |What is the difference between a ‘re-visit’ instigated by an Officer, and an additional inspection requested by a food business?
• |Why is the 'Food Hygiene Ratings' scheme's data provided in two ways?
• |Where can I obtain further information on the 'Food Hygiene Ratings' scheme?

Q1: | What is the 'Food Hygiene Ratings' scheme'?

A1: All food premises are inspected by Elmbridge Borough Council's Environmental Health & Licensing Division to make sure that the food they supply is safe to eat and that they comply with food safety legislation. This scheme allows the public to view the latest assessment of food hygiene standards made by officers following their inspections. The score is in the form of a star rating ranging from five to zero stars, where five stars (5) shows excellent standards and zero stars (0) indicates that major improvements are required.

Q2: |What determines the timing and format of the Council's inspection of food businesses?

A2: In accordance with Government guidance, set out in the Food Standards Agency's Food Law Code of Practice, food enforcement officers are able to enter and inspect food premises at all reasonable hours. They do not have to make an appointment and will usually visit premises without giving any notice. The frequency of full inspections, where all relevant aspects of the food business are examined, is determined in accordance with the national risk rating scheme defined in the Code. This establishes risk by reference to three factors:

• potential hazard
• compliance with legal requirements
• confidence in management/control systems.

How often the premises are inspected will depend on a numerical assessment calculated at the end of the inspection, based on the officer's conclusions as to how the food business has performed against these factors and the resulting level of risk considered to be associated with the business. This numerical assessment then places the food business in one of the following categories.

Based on the above some food businesses are inspected at least every 6 months, while others are only inspected once every 5 years, with those posing a higher risk to the consumer being inspected more regularly than those premises with a low risk. This information provides the framework for the Council's food business inspection programme. It is important to note that these are minimum inspection frequencies and local authorities may carry out more frequent inspections, additional inspections and revisits of food businesses, if considered necessary.

Q3: |How is the star rating calculated?

A3: The numerical scoring assessment calculated by officers at the end of an inspection, which determines the intervals at which a food business is inspected, referred to above, awards a total score which then equates to a star rating. This star rating is then published on the website following a period of fourteen days, during which a food business has the right to appeal the star rating awarded. Food businesses achieving a 5, 4 or 3 star rating will be issued with a certificate for display on the front door or window of the premises.

Q4: |Which businesses will get a star rating?

A4: All registered food businesses, supplying food direct to the consumer, form part of Elmbridge Borough Council's inspection programme, including restaurants, hotels, pubs serving food, takeaways, schools, hospitals and residential homes, as well as supermarkets and other retailers. Businesses offering childcare services from a private residence are excluded for child protection reasons, but through a partnership working initiative with |Ofsted, this information is available from their website.

Q5: |How can you be sure that the food enforcement officers get it right?

A5: In accordance with the Food Standards Agency's Code of Practice and standards laid down by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, (CIEH) all officers authorised by the Council to inspect food premises have successfully completed a rigorous programme of academic study, professional practice, post-qualification experience and assessment of competency.

Q6: |Why is Elmbridge Borough Council introducing this scheme?

A6: Publication of food hygiene inspection information is very popular with consumers as a means of informing their decisions about where to eat. It is also very successful in terms of helping improve standards of food hygiene, by giving public recognition to those food businesses which have achieved high standards of food hygiene and thereby providing an incentive to businesses to improve hygiene and so ultimately reduce the incidence of food poisoning.

Q7: |Is this a national scheme?

A7: No, but the Food Standards Agency is committed to supporting the voluntary publication online of premises hygiene scores for all councils before the end of the first half of 2009, following a three-year pilot in London and selected councils elsewhere.

Nationally, schemes similar to the 'Food Hygiene Ratings' scheme, known as 'Scores on the Doors" and 'safe2eat', are currently operated by 214 local authorities, out of a total of 434 that enforce food hygiene requirements in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In terms of the position within Surrey, Elmbridge Council is one of only three out of the eleven district councils to have published food business hygiene ratings online to date.

On the international front, this type of scheme has operated in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Europe for sometime. An associated increase in compliance levels with food hygiene regulations and in consumer protection (a 20% reduction in food borne disease-related visits to hospital) have been attributed to its introduction.

Q8: |Are there any food businesses which are not on the website?

A8: The information currently available on the website includes registered food businesses within the Borough of Elmbridge, which have received a food hygiene inspection since 1 April 2007. New inspection ratings will be uploaded on a fortnightly basis, following a period of 14 days during which a food business operator can appeal if not in agreement with the rating awarded. The ratings relating to inspections prior to April 2007 are not included, as such information may be out of date. However, based on the inspection frequency of the food business (as explained in Q2 above) information on those food businesses currently not included within the scheme will be added once they are due for inspection, as determined by the Council's rolling inspection programme.

Q9: |Do businesses have to display their star rating?

A9: No, displaying the certificate is at present voluntary.

Q10: |Will food businesses be surprised by their published star rating?

A10: Food businesses will already be aware of their star rating, as in line with the Food Law Code of Practice, at the end of each inspection officers discuss the findings with the food business operator or other person in charge, in particular, Officers:

• Discuss and explain any significant findings, including the numerical rating calculated based on the officers' findings;
• Make a clear distinction between contraventions and recommendations of good practice;
• Explain what enforcement action, if any, is proposed, and,
• Discuss solutions to problems and time scales for action.

Also, in advance of publishing their star ratings, all businesses will have been reminded by letter of their current star rating and, in the case of the lower star rated businesses, offered a choice of additional support to improve their rating.

Q11: |Do you expect some food business operators to be aggrieved by their published rating?

A11: Clearly, those food businesses achieving lower star ratings are likely to be unhappy, as obviously this is the first time that this information has been in the public domain and many of their regular patrons will not have been aware of their substandard levels of food safety and hygiene, as assessed against the law.
Also, regrettably, in the case of many of the 2 and 0 star businesses, where practices or conditions have been consistently unsatisfactory, every attempt will have been made to resolve the situation by informal means, but officers may already have had to use formal enforcement action where poor conditions have continued to persist, or where there has been a risk to public health. This has, in some cases, involved either the service of legal notice, prosecution, or in extreme cases closure of the business, in line with the Council's published Enforcement Policy for the Environmental Health & Licensing Division.

Q12: |What happens if a business disagrees with the star rating?

A12: The rating is based on a professional officer's inspection and will not normally be changed. However, if a business believes that it has been treated unfairly and strongly disagrees with an inspection rating, then they may make a written appeal to the Head of Environmental Health & Licensing Division within 14 days of the inspection, setting out the specific reasons for the disagreement. The matter will be investigated and the decision of the Head of Environmental Health & Licensing Division will be final.
If a business feels that standards have improved since the inspection, the food business operator can use the "right to reply" facility on the website to indicate the improvements that they have made as long as claims can be verified by officers.

Q13: |Can the star rating be changed?

A13: Yes, but generally only when the next programmed food hygiene inspection is due. However, an inspection may be brought forward and the star rating reassessed if any serious hygiene defects are discovered as a result of a consumer complaint or during the course of a food poisoning investigation. Similarly, if a food business operator considers that the star rating awarded is no longer applicable due to significant changes and/or improvements, an additional inspection may be requested on payment of a fee to the Environmental Health & Licensing Division. However, only one such additional inspection can take place within the business's normal programmed inspection cycle. (as explained in Q 12 above)

Q14: |Why do businesses need to pay for requested additional inspections

A14: A fee of £175 is chargeable for an additional requested inspection of a high risk food business and £145 for that of a lower risk business. These fees are to cover the additional costs incurred by the Council's Environmental Health & Licensing Division for this service, specifically to cover existing officers' overtime and the employment of additional consultancy services, should the demand for these additional inspections be such that the Division's existing resources are unable to meet it.

Q15: |What is the difference between a 're-visit' instigated by an officer, and an additional inspection requested by a food business?

A15: In accordance with the Food Law Code of Practice, based on professional judgement, an officer may decide to revisit a food business in the event of receiving an associated allegation of food poisoning, a related consumer complaint or should, following a full inspection, the officer have continuing concerns about matters of a serious nature. Such revisits do not cover all relevant aspects of the food business, focusing on the matters of concern and do not provide sufficient information to enable a new numerical scoring assessment and a revision of the business's star rating. These revisits are then scheduled and form part of the officer's planned work programme.
With the introduction of the 'Food Hygiene Ratings' scheme, a discretionary additional inspection service is available to food business operators on payment of a fee. (as explained in the answers to Q's 13 and 14 above) Such an additional inspection will cover all relevant aspects of the food business, enabling the officer to calculate a new numerical scoring assessment on consideration of the standards found at that time. This additional inspection may result in a higher or lower star rating being awarded and its publication online, to replace the previous star rating, following the fourteen day appeal period.

Q16: |Why is the 'Food Hygiene Ratings' scheme's data provided in two ways?

A16: The 'Food Hygiene Ratings' scheme currently displays the data in a series of lists and also on the 'My Elmbridge' online maps facility.

Initially, the Council published the information relating to 5 and 4 star food businesses on the 'My Elmbridge' online maps facility in July 2008, with a view to encouraging and offering support to those businesses achieving a lower star rating before publishing these later in the year. However, a subsequent upgrade of the 'My Elmbridge' facility proved incompatible with the 'Food Hygiene Ratings' scheme and led to a number of technical difficulties. As an interim measure, the Council published the star ratings in a series of lists to make the information accessible to the public, whilst these problems were being addressed. However, as both the list and map based systems are now proving equally popular with users, we have decided to maintain both methods of publishing.

Q17: |Where can I obtain further information on the 'Food Hygiene Ratings' scheme?

A17: Additional information can be accessed by reference to the Food| Hygiene Ratings schemes published protocol, or by emailing the |Environmental Health & Licensing Division or by contacting the Food & Safety Team, Environmental Health & Licensing Division, Elmbridge Borough Council, Civic Centre, High Street, Esher, Surrey. KT10 9SD Tel: 01372 474750.