Food Hygiene Inspections

Wrexham publish results of food hygiene inspections

Wrexham County Borough Council has introduced a star rating system which allows members of the public to see the results of recent food hygiene inspections carried out in the Wrexham area, on the Council web site.

Food Hygiene Database
The current list of premises refers to inspections carried out since September 1st 2006, and will be updated on a regular basis.

Currently, under the Freedom of Information Act, anyone has the right to request information of all food premises, and access to any reports that have been sent. This scheme allows anyone to see the information they are legally entitled to receive but in a manner which is easier to understand.

What are the benefits?

To the public

The new scheme aims to raise the standards of food safety for consumers and gives the public the opportunity to make informed choices about where they choose to eat or buy food, based on food safety.

For business

The scheme serves as a good advertisement for high standards of hygiene, which in turn may improve business and reward them for their effort. Several local authorities throughout the country are taking part in the scheme, and it is generally known as "Scores on the Doors".

How the scheme works

The Council is required to inspect all businesses that serve, prepare or sell food, and this is done by Environmental Health Officers and Food Safety Officers who are qualified and authorized to carry out inspections. At the time of inspection, businesses are assessed against a range of parameters including their compliance with food hygiene legislation. Officers also make an assessment of their confidence in management of the business. This assessment leads to an overall score which is used to determine how often the premises is inspected. This score will now also be used to calculate the star rating in the "Scores on the Doors" scheme.

It should be pointed out that only larger premises or premises handling or preparing higher risk foods are to be included in the scheme, thus excluding the lower risk premises such as newsagents, community centres and pubs that do not sell food.

The scoring system

Each business is scored on the following three points:

Food hygiene and safety

How hygienically food is handled, the cleanliness of the premises.

Structure

Condition of the structure, repair, lighting, ventilation, pest proofing.

Confidence in Management

Evidence of a food safety management system, history of compliance, general attitude of the management.

The score results in one of the following star ratings being awarded:

• 5 stars = Excellent standards of hygiene. High standards of compliance with food legislation. Highly confident in management. Gold food hygiene award.

• 4 stars = Very high standards of hygiene. Very good level of compliance. Confident in management. Silver food hygiene award.

• 3 stars = Good standards of hygiene. Some minor contraventions. Reasonable record of compliance. Bronze food hygiene award.

• 2 stars = Some non compliance with hygiene issues. Satisfactory confidence in management. Standards being maintained.

• 1 star = More effort required. Poor appreciation of hazards.

• 0 stars = Low standards generally. Little appreciation of food safety.

Should a food business proprietor wish to comment on the score they have been awarded, there is a "right to reply" available on the web site. This might be useful if, for example, improvement works have been carried out at the premises since the last inspection. The star rating will, however, remain the same until the next scheduled inspection.