FSA consults on 'Scores on the Doors'

The Food Standards Agency is consulting on proposals for establishing a UK-wide 'scores on the doors' scheme to provide consumers with information about hygiene standards in food businesses.

Under the scheme, food businesses are given a score to indicate the hygiene standards in their premises found during inspections by local authority enforcement officers. Food outlets may display the score on their door and consumers can also look them up on a website. It is not mandatory for businesses to display their score and those that are not satisfied with the score that they have been given may appeal through the local authority's formal complaints procedure.

At present, there are a variety of differently designed schemes operating in an estimated 196 local authority areas. These differ in a number of ways, including:

• the type of businesses covered - some cover all food businesses but others only restaurants and cafes etc
• the number of tiers within the scheme - this varies from two to six
• the symbols used to denote these tiers (eg stars, smiley faces, traffic lights) on certificates or stickers that may be displayed at the business premises
• some provide a mechanism for the re-inspection of businesses where they are not satisfied with their score, but most do not.
  The Agency asserts that a UK-wide scheme would provide consistency and clarity for consumers and business.

Having assessed consumer understanding of the various schemes and the impact of these schemes on local authorities and businesses, the Agency' Board recommended that the Agency should consult on two options for the UK-wide scheme: 

• a 'three-star, plus fail' (four-tier) scheme
• a 'pass/improvement required' (two-tier) scheme based on that which is currently being piloted by local authorities in Scotland.

The Agency does recognise that the majority of existing schemes are designed around a six-tier ('five-star, plus fail') scoring system, so will also consider comments on this. The Agency has reviewed the five-star option and concluded that it has a number of difficulties, including that:

• consumers are reluctant to buy food from premises below a 3-star score
• businesses are unwilling to display a 2-star score even though it indicates broad compliance with legal requirements
• as businesses are unwilling to display scores which are perceived as 'failures', there is little to be gained from having three 'fail' grades as is the case for several of the six-tier schemes.
• there is greater potential for consumer confusion from a scheme with so many tiers.

Comments are sought particularly on: 

• the basic design of the UK-wide scheme, including whether it should be four tiers or two tiers, the criteria that should be used for classification, and the symbols and/or descriptors that should be used to denote each tier
• what types of businesses should be given a hygiene score
• where consumers can find out what the scores are for the businesses from which they purchase their food
• whether businesses should be allowed to request the local authority to undertake a reinspection or to re-visit them in order to be rescored?
• whether businesses should be able to appeal against the score given.

As adoption of the UK-wide scheme will not be mandatory, its success will be reliant on the support and involvement of local authorities. Comments are sought by 15 August 2008 and there are separate consultations for England, Scotland and Northern Ireland currently on the Agency's website:

England - http://www.food.gov.uk/consultations/consulteng/2008/sotdeng08
Scotland - http://www.food.gov.uk/consultations/consultscot/2008/sotdscot08
Northern Ireland - http://www.food.gov.uk/consultations/consultni/2008/sotdni08

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