How hygienic is your favourite restaurant? (From Salisbury Journal)

How hygienic is your favourite restaurant?

9:32am Thursday 12th January 2012 in News By Jill Harding

HOW clean, hygienic and well run are the restaurants, cafes and takeaways you use?

A Scores on Doors scheme revealing the best and worst of Wiltshire’s eateries is available for all to see on the council’s website and the scheme is about to become national.

Wiltshire Council’s food safety officers have carried out unannounced inspections at most of the 4,000 premises that prepare and serve food across the county.

Each is marked on food hygiene and safety, the internal and external structure of the building, and management procedures including staff training and documentation.

The scores translate into a star rating between zero and five.

Zero stars means “unacceptable - almost total non-compliance with statutory obligations,” and follow up action is likely.

Premises with only one star show a “general failure to satisfy statutory obligations and structural standards and confidence in management is low,” and more effort is required.

In south Wiltshire, nine restaurants and takeaways have a zero star rating.

Another 14 only have one star.

At the other end of the scale are five star food providers which achieve top scores in all areas and there are 671 of these across Wiltshire including several in Salisbury.

Although some have changed hands since their last inspection or have already made improvements, public protection manager Anna Brett said the scores can provide a useful guide for diners.

“In the very worst cases we can shut restaurants down when there is a serious health risk,” she said.

“And if premises receive zero stars we will revisit them again within one week to three months, and inspect again six months later.

“Sometimes they do badly because records have not been kept and places without proper documentation will find it more difficult do well.

“In other cases hygiene and cleanliness just aren’t up to scratch.”

Nurseries, school meal providers, nursing homes and catering companies are also graded by the Scores on Doors scheme.

From April, the inspectors’ findings will become part of the national Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, which means diners can check one database to discover the scores for any food provider in the country.

“Around one million people suffer from food poisoning every year at an estimated cost to the economy of £1.5billion,” said Mrs Brett.

“The aim is to reduce this. We want to work with restaurants to improve standards.

“Also, the more that people use Scores on Doors and look at the star rating when deciding where to eat, the more pressure it will put on food providers to make sure they are meeting their statutory obligations.”

South Wiltshire premises with zero stars are:

* Amesbury Tandoori

* Dream Chinese Takeaway - Fisherton Street

* George Hotel, Amesbury

* Pasty Presto, Silver Street Salisbury

* Phoenix Takeaway, Amesbury

* Popeyes, Estcourt Road Salisbury

* Tandoori Nights, Amesbury

* The Royal Oak, Great Wishford

* Viceroy Indian Restaurant, Bulford Camp

The full listings and inspectors’ findings can be seen at wiltshire.gov.uk and by searching for Scores on Doors.

Note: Restaurants are given a score out of 80.

Better performing restaurants receive a lower score and must get between 0 and 5 to achieve five stars.

Food providers with a score of more than 50 automatically get zero stars.

From April, all the ratings will be added to the national database at food.gov.uk.