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Would You Want Scores on Your Doors?
For the last two years, diners in some areas of Scotland have been greeted by two notices posted in the doorway or windows of their chosen restaurant: the traditional menu and, in some cases, the results of the respective establishment's latest food-hygiene inspection. Visit a food outlet in some areas of Perth, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Fife and Renfrewshire, and you may notice a certificate reading either 'Pass', 'Improvement Required' or 'Awaiting Inspection' stuck near the door.
The controversial pilot scheme, devised and implemented by the Food Standards Agency Scotland (FSAS), is more commonly known as 'scores on the doors', and has been met with mixed feelings from restaurant owners throughout the country. While some feel it is perhaps time that restaurants were made to face up to their failings, others fear that it will damage customer relations more than it will help improve the hygiene situation.
Beth Pearson examines the pros and cons of the proposed system, and finds in the majority of cases it isn't as popular as the FSAS would like it to be…
David Maguire, Chief Executive of Glasgow Restaurateurs' Association (GRA), is not enthusiastic about the new scheme. Questioning the concept of 'scores on the doors' he doubts its merits on practical and financial grounds: 'There is absolutely no chance that anyone getting an 'Improvement Required' score will put the sign up,' he says. 'It concerns me that the promoters of the scheme would even have considered that someone in their right mind would do so. It's bonkers.
'At one of the meetings I attended with environmental health officers already working on the scheme, they said that if they came across an 'improvement required' certificate, they didn't even bother printing it, never mind sending it out, because they knew it wouldn't be put up. That shows there are people within the system who do understand what the issue is.'
Although it is currently not compulsory for establishments to display certificates once they have been awarded, it may become so in the future, and research suggests that the public would support the scheme: Sixty-four per cent of consumers questioned said they would be less likely to buy food from an outlet not displaying its certificate.
Yet Maguire challenges the assumption that food outlets which have been granted a 'Pass' will uniformly wish to display their credentials: 'When you talk to catering professionals or anyone involved in the trade at that level, you don't need to explain why it's off-putting; they just understand. They know that the notion of having a notice on your front door about environmental health is not something you want your client to be thinking about. 'It's all fine and good at retail level, but going to a butcher to buy a pound of mince is not the same as going out for a meal,' he says. 'It's a different activity. The certificate detracts from the experience; you wouldn't go to Gleneagles and expect to see an environmental health certificate, would you? The concern is that the people promoting the scheme have missed this point.'
This view is echoed by Beppo Buchanan-Smith of The Isle of Eriska Hotel & Spa, near Oban: 'I do think a 'Pass' sign would detract from the ambience of a place and I would therefore display it in such a way that no one would see it,' he says.
Colin Macaloney, of Glenskirlie House & Castle, agrees: 'We wouldn't mind displaying a certificate somewhere in the property, but we're a high quality operator and it would worry me to have it right at the entrance.
'I can understand where they're coming from, because everyone is concerned about food hygiene these days, but any certificate would need to be displayed somewhere discreet.'
The suggestion is that a positive food-hygiene assessment should, in some establishments, be taken for granted, and that drawing attention to the assessment may have a negative influence on the ambience the owners strive to create.
However, the FSAS feels very differently, and maintains that the certifications are there to protect the consumer:
'This is a means of making food-hygiene information available at the point of sale, supported by web-based information,' says a representative. 'Scores-on-the-doors schemes are designed to give clear information and help inform consumer choice.'
Meanwhile, Maguire is worried that misunderstandings can occur because of the inflexibility of the certificates: An 'Improvement Required' certificate could merely denote a situation where a new fridge seal is on order, or that a new piece of legislation has been introduced,' he says. 'Consumers may in the meantime assume the worst, and resolve never to visit the establishment in the future.'
Indeed, Maguire believes that if there is a serious environmental health problem, a certificate isn't the answer: 'The GRA takes the view that where a significant improvement is required, it's best to close the place down until it's fixed,' he explains.
'If improving standards is what the people behind the scheme intend to do, then giving environmental health officers greater powers could achieve this. Frightening operators by asking them to put up signs is never going to work. It's interesting how quickly improvements are made when outlets are faced with closure.'
Ultimately, Maguire would prefer an extension of the Eat Safe certificate scheme over any other system. Eat Safe, introduced in Scotland in 2005, requires caterers to achieve standards of food hygiene and safety beyond those required by law. It is available to all establishments, from hospital restaurants to takeaways, and the GRA is currently considering attainment of an Eat Safe award as a prerequisite of membership.
If a pass- or fail-style scheme is pursued, however, Maguire says he would favour a star-based system over the piloted version, such as the one currently in operation on the Isle of Wight: 'Stars are acquired as standards improve, so it doesn't make customers turn away 200 yards from the restaurant because there's a sign saying 'Improvement Required'.
Whichever scheme makes the grade, it appears that times are changing rapidly for the industry. High profile scares have drawn attention to matters of food-hygiene, and authorities are under pressure to improve standards and reassure the public.
The FSAS hopes that the pilot scheme, or a similar system, will be rolled out across the country in the near future. It received more than 400 responses to a consultation on options for a countrywide food-hygiene scheme over the summer and, according a representative, these views from local authorities, consumers and industry are now being studied: 'The Agency is carefully considering these responses with a view to making a recommendation for a UK-wide scheme to the FSA Board for consideration at their December 2008 meeting,'
Whether it will receive a 'Pass', of course, remains to be seen.
This article has been edited from its original version. For the complete feature, please see Catering in Scotland magazine November/December 2008.
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