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A recent
report in The Oxford Student remarked on how restaurants around
Oxford are breaching dozens of environmental health regulations. In a
series of inspections carried out by Oxford City Council, numerous
restaurants were found to be in contravention of the Food Safety Act
(1990). Reports ranging from dirty chopping boards in Maxwell's to
serious insect infestations have shocked diners across the
University, the report said.
The
inspections, carried out without warning over an 18-month period,
found 15 restaurants in Oxford that "pose a considerable risk to
the health of customers". At Chopsticks restaurant on Cowley
Road, the infestation of pharaoh ants was so severe that the
inspector ordered that it be removed by a pest control expert. The
management at Chopsticks refused to comment on the issue.
Some
restaurants had failed to perform a risk assessment or COSHH (Control
of Substances Hazardous to Health) report. The latter is required by
law and premises that do not comply risk immediate prosecution and
closure. At La Cucina, the inspection discovered ice cream stored
next to raw prawns, risking cross contamination. It was also noted
that raw produce was being stored in the original cardboard
packaging, risking it being impregnated with cockroach eggs, which
would cause an infestation.
Aziz
Restaurant, an award-winning establishment, was criticised for
storing potentially lethal cleaning chemicals alongside food
products. The restaurant was also criticized for having no sanitiser
in its kitchen and no inlet ventilation in the cooking area. Mario's
Pizzeria was found to have left the chemical cupboard open to
customers during the inspection. Joe's Café on Cowley Road was
found to have no ventilation in the toilets, resulting in an
unpleasant smell.
Quod and La
Cucina were found to be either lacking a wash basin in the kitchen or
had one that was broken or unacceptably dirty. In a report made only
two months ago it was noted that the ice machine at Holywell's showed
signs of mould growth. Holywell's also had a walk-in fridge which
showed significant mould growth.
At Spice
Village on Cowley Road, the oven lining was found to be defective,
leading the inspector to claim that there was serious danger of
cement contamination in all food cooked on the premises. Chain
restaurants were also criticised for negligent practises. At Bella
Italia, three staff had received no hygiene training and cooking
equipment was found to be in a highly unsanitary state.
The Food
Safety Act (1990) allows the council to impose a range of deadlines
depending on the nature of the complaint. For serious problems such
as pest infestations, the inspector can close the restaurant
immediately. Structural issues such as cracked tiles or peeling
paintwork are treated less severely; where there is no "imminent
risk to health", the restaurant may be given a period of weeks.
Reports such
as this are appearing in regional media all over the United Kingdom
as more and more councils operate a "Scores on the Doors"
project to make the public aware of the health and hygiene status of
the restaurants they visit. Under this system the restaurants are
inspected regularly by EHOs and allocated 1-5 stars based on their findings.
The new system
requires the owners of food premises, including restaurants, pubs and
takeaways, to post the results of food inspections visibly at their
premises, possibly even on the front doors, to inform potential
customers of the standards of food hygiene and safety, whether they
be good or bad. Jenny Morris, CIEH policy officer, said, "This
type of 'scores on doors' scheme is used widely across the USA and a
similar scheme has recently been introduced in Toronto, Canada where
it has been warmly welcomed by consumers and regulators. In the USA,
premises have to display a scorecard with capital letters A - E
indicating the level of hygiene standards at the premises. A
indicates high standards of food safety and hygiene and E poor
standards. Closer to the UK, Denmark operates a Smiley scheme whereby
food premises that practice good hygiene are given a happy face and
those that don't are given a sad face.
All the London
local authorities (33 in all), six cities in the Midlands, five
authorities in Scotland, two authorities in Wales and two District
Councils in Northern Ireland will be operating schemes sponsored by
the Food Standards Agency. Some of these pilot projects have already
started, others will be starting soon. In addition, about 8 local
authorities have asked for the chance to take part in the Agency's trials.
In
Bedfordshire five caterers failed to score any stars. They are:
Dom's
Continental Bar - Biggleswade : Indian Restaurant (Old George Hotel)
- Silsoe : Mega Kebab - Brogborough Club : Shapla Tandoori - Shefford
: Two Brewers PH - Stotfold. Biggles Tandoori could only manage 1
star as could the ASDA staff restaurant!
In Birmingham
Indian restaurants Maharaja and Jyoti were give the highest possible
5 stars, but award-winners Rajdoot and Prana could only manage 3
stars with Shimla Pinks and the new Bilash on 2 stars and another
award winner Peppers was allocated a lowly 1 star with comments of
"poor appreciation of hazards and control measures and no food
safety management system". J.Jays in Hagley Road and Adils in
Basall Heath couldn't manage a star between them.
In Bradford
the story was similar. Nawaab and Anams can boast a proud 5 stars and
Mumtaz Paan 4 stars but multi award-winning Akbars in Leeds Road
languishes on 1 star. In Leeds Aagrahs in Pudsey and Garforth are
awarded 4 stars, Jinnah and Akbars Eatgate 3 stars but Nawab
Wellington Street and the fabulous Akbars the Grand in Greek Street
have just 1 star each.
In Bristol
Rajpoot managed 5 stars but the newer Old India was awarded just 2
whilst Spice Oven was the top Indian scorer in Reading with 3 stars
as Bina and Sardar Palace could only manage 1 each.
The potential
trouble these "scores on the doors" could cause is
emphasised nowhere better than the London Borough of Southwark. Iqbal
Wahhab's highly successful Roast was given 4 stars, top ecclectic
restaurant Champor Champor 3 and Tower Tandoori just 1 but even
fashionable Oxo Tower scored a lowly 2 stars. Amusingly even the
headquarters of environmental health officers, CIEH failed to score
top marks with 4 stars being awarded.
The potential
for conflict is huge. Certainly the public have a right to know if a
restaurant is slipping up on its health and hygiene control. However,
the number of highly successful, award-winning restaurants with low
"scores on the doors" suggests their customers do not
believe it or perhaps do not care. The possible problems presented by
this scheme are huge involving restaurants virtually warning off
potential customers if their "score" is low.
As the trial
period finishes and more and more Councils join the scheme you can be
sure that "Scores on the Doors" will become a hot issue in
times to come. With COSHH and HACCP requirements only to mention two,
there is certain to be a fair amount of head scratching amongst
managers and restaurateurs in coming months and years. Perhaps the
answer is to have good insurance coverage just in case!
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