Sitting here waiting for a takeaway from a restaurant with a 5 star cleanliness rating, becuase the one literally 2 minutes walk away has been discovered to have 1 star. I thought the food was good frankly.

Lets see if i can tell a difference…

MSG makes food taste good.

For it to have one star thats gotta be pretty shocking -avoid

Has the 1 star restaurant killed you yet?

Well I’m still here and posting…..?

It might be good food but not necessarily hygenicically made. I have a friend who gives out the scores and she would only eat in 4 or 5 star places…

By ‘local’ I thought you meant drinking hole, in which case, no. I don’t have a regular eatery, other than the chippy.

Don’t get this star rating ! If it’s unhygenic shut it down, thats all you need to know.

they can still be up and runnning with 0 stars out of 5. It takes a heck of a lot to shut them down but at least people can see the ratings now and vote with their feet. I think there are moves to force the food places to display the score in the window and that might shame these people to improve.

try these 2 websites

http://ratings.food.gov.uk/

http://www.scoresonthedoors.co.uk

I worked in a few restraunts working with refrigeration engineers,some of the stuff you see behind fridges and in them would put you off, and best not to ask about ice machines

The star rating is based on food safety not food quality. The food at a 5 star takeaway can still be crap. For a takeaway to be awarded 0 or 1 star hygiene standards have to be very poor so I would avoid regardless of how good the food is.

If my local place got a 1 start rating I’d never go back.

I’d probably avoid it for a bit.

yeah defo avoid 1 and 2 stars. 3&4 can be a bit decieving as paperwork affects the star rating. you could have the cleanest kitchen in town, but if your fridge temps arnt up to date, or probe temps etc. then you will lose stars. 4 and 5 is a good standard for any fast food place, but if the food is shit, well its your decision 😀

Do you check the temp of your own food? What a load of shite. I’ll stick to picking establishments by taste.

Both my usual go-to places get a 3 rating. But tomorrow I dine on 4 star Thai.

I used to get a pizza once a week from here.

They were very nice, but I did used to get a few stomach upsets.

Makes me a bit angry, tbh. Doesn’t cost much to run a clean kitchen.

Do you check the temp of your own food? What a load of shite. I’ll stick to picking establishments by taste.

This. Most home kitchens wouldn’t get 4 stars.

Most home kitchens would struggle to get 1 star.
Separate hand washing sink? All food labelled as to when it was bought (meat/veg)? Separate food preparation and dishwashing sinks? Uncooked and cooked food kept separate? When was the last time you took the plinths/kickboards off your kitchen units – do it and see the dust there.
The list is massive. Filthy places should be shut down, the difference between 3 and 5 stars is small – my friend was down rated as the chef did not check the temperature of a rare cooked steak. He did tell the Inspector to FO out of his kitchen, but even so, who on earth would check the temperature of a steak?

Well, this may not be to do with cleanliness but last nights meal was less oily, higher quality duck, and the prawn crackers were less greasy. There was less “sauce” in the trays too.

No reason not to go back tbh.

We have a local pub we always meant to try, until we saw it had ‘achieved’ a couple of 1 stars and then had no revisit for 18 months. Its reassuring when you find your favourite indian has 5 stars. Even the butcher in our high street that trades out of an open sided lorry has managed to get 4 stars.

Its a bit different at home, if you don’t cook something properly its your own fault. If you are paying, you expect not to get something dodgy! Regarding food labelling and dates, most of us can remember how long the clingfilmed chicken leftovers have been in the fridge, whereas in a commercial kitchen, you could have different staff three days running and no one would know how old it was.

The truth is, if there isn’t a sticker in the window, they are probably bumbling along doing just enough to avoid getting shut down.

Rusty Spanner – Member
I used to get a pizza once a week from here.

They were very nice, but I did used to get a few stomach upsets.

Makes me a bit angry, tbh. Doesn’t cost much to run a clean kitchen.

Food poisoning is not just a mild stomach upset , it can kill the old and weak and even if you are healthy can leave you bed ridden for a few days and feeling like shit for longer .

It’s a shame that inspectors dont have the power to shut down the places that get zero stars. I used to eat at a local restaurant that had a very cleaning dining area and toilets but ended up with zero stars. The kitchen must have been a turd hole. Never went again despite now having 3 star

I wouldnt touch anyone with less than 3 stars.

**** that

Just found out my favourite Chinese has a zero rating!

Just found out my favourite Chinese has a zero rating!

You see, its a slippery slope. Mrs K used t’internet to rule out most of our favorite eating establishments.

Ah well, it’ll help the diet I guess.

Whoa the Ox where we had food/a stw meet got 1/5.

Nbt are you still alive??

takes more that that to kill me 🙂

both my local chippies have a five star rating, woo!

Oddly, the chippy local to work is only 2 star, but the butty van right next to work is 5 star.

It is sad that places with the correct paperwork are rated higher than something that gives good food at good prices. Unless there is proven illness linked to hygene standards the level is right.
More nanny state IMO

More nanny state IMO

Bollocks. A nanny state would say you can’t eat anything that’s not five star. A responsible state gives you information to make your own decision, except where the standard of hygiene is so abysmal it presents a significant risk to the next punter through the door.

Our local chippy has got 3 stars. I felt a little uneasy (if I told ‘er indoors she’d insist we move).

They’ve since taken the sticker down and I feel much better about it.

It does seem to have raised standards in my area, when they first started publishing them almost all the takeaways round here were 1 – 3, now mostly 3 – 5s.

I’ve not used it to stop going somewhere I’ve used previously, but I’ve referred to the ratings when my favourite takeaway closed down (went bust, didn’t kill anyone with infected horsemeat) and I was looking for a replacement, ruled out anyone with less than a 3, still alive.

In answer to the OP

Yes, and have done.

but even so, who on earth would check the temperature of a steak?

Well, if the EHO officer was stood next to me I would.

Likewise the night before they visit you check all your paperwork and deep clean the kitchen, it’s not difficult. Any establishment with only 1 – 3 stars isn’t even trying.

phil.w – a lot of the visits are unannounced so that they cannot clean up just for that day.

I agree that mountains of paperwork do not make a safe eatery but i would not want to eat anywhere that did not know how old ingredients were etc because they had not recorded the dates.

Hi
EHO here for my sins!
Been watching this thread since it started debating whether to post or not-might open a whole can of worms but……
Simply put Food businesses are scored on 3 criteria-structure/cleanliness, safe systems and management.
A major failure in one area could result in a low score (0-1) but it would have to be major and would likely lead to enforcement.
Less serious failures in 2 or more areas could lead to a poor score-say a 2 but minor failures would give a 3-5 score depending on what they are.
It is quite easy to get a 4-5 rating if you run your business properly.

The government produce a pre printed FREE document with gaps to fill in which satisfies the criteria for paperwork in most businesses except major organisations. This takes about 2 hours to complete initially then less than 5 MINUTES a day to maintain. Not arduous

And that’s it-keep your premises in good order and clean, buy from reputable suppliers, train your staff to basic levels and show you can produce safe food equals a good hygiene rating!!!!

There is no legal requirement to display your rating but that’s coming. If its not displayed ask yourself why!!!!

This is no indicator of food quality though.
If people have poor ratings they are just ignorant, cutting corners or just not trying-generally speaking.
I wouldn’t go to someone who was less than a 3 without knowing it
Cheers
Steve

Hey Rusty Spanner, having eaten loads at that Tod takeaway, I conclude that my stomach is made of steel. However, I’ve not tested it lately, just in case. So yes, OP, the star rating does affect which takeaways I go to now.

Which do you use now Clover?
Just noticed your response and the latest news from Tod.

Dunno why, but I feel like jumping over a fence or two and flicking the flies from my nose……….. 😯

Fatgit – I am thinking of applying for position of EHO if or when a position becomes available locally. Would you recommend it as a career?

PMK
As a career it’s good once you are established but even now due to cuts in Local Authorities we are all vulnerable.
My team of 4 was a team of 8 two years ago and we aren’t sure what the next couple of years hold.
The other thing you need to be aware is that generally you need a degree in Environmental Health. That’s 3 years study plus a year getting experience. That’s if someone will take you on and they aren’t likely to be able to pay you.
We generally have a student but they have to be self supporting for the year-not easy!!!
I don’t mean to be negative. It’s an interesting job but would just advise caution
Cheers
Steve