Compliance Check-list

Food Solutions has produced a quick and easy checklist to help you assess your compliance with the Food Hygiene and Food Safety Regulations.

At only £4 it is a cost effective way of ensuring your business is complying and indicating where you may need to improve to get a good inspection report.

If you have completed the compliance check-list and taken any action suggested, you can be confident your next inspection result will be a good one.

Available on its own or as part of the Food Solutions food safety package.

Be Prepared, get your compliance check-list.

Scores on Doors Scheme

The Scores On the Doors website allows consumers to find out how hygienic and well managed the food businesses so far rated are.

The mission statement says its aims are:

To promote Food Safety and empower Consumer choice by making available information to which the Public has a right to access under Environment Information Regulation Legislation.
A Best Value method for any Local Authorities to meet their public access obligations under current and future legislation.
A visible, cost effective and well-publicised means of encouragement for improved standards amongst catering establishments.

Scores on the Doors Scheme Latest

The FSA has just published the results of the consumer consultation on the National Scores on Doors Scheme descriptors and symbols.

The report which runs to some 81 pages details the discussions and interviews which took place. A relatively small consultation - only about 150 people in total, it revealed some interesting opinions. Full consultation report.

The report does not include an executive summary but the FSA does indicate the symbols and descriptors that "have most potential".

We did question some of the suggested descriptors and have been assured they are not considered appropriate to describe the scheme.

Subscribers can see our resume of this document in the resources section, under Scores on Doors (you will have to log in to view).

Scores on Doors Steering Group

The FSA decided on a 6-tier Scheme for England and Wales in December 2008. Scotland retained its two-tier scheme.

Scores On Doors Steering Group was formed to oversee the implementation of the new National Scores on Doors Scheme. Working groups were appointed to discuss and finalise:

Scope/launch issues,
banding/scoring
consistency

Details of meetings of the Scores on Doors Steering Group (papers/agendas and minutes) can be seen on the FSA Scores on Doors meetings page.

The next Scores on Doors steering group meeting is to be on 17th June. Items on the agenda include, identity and branding - now the consumer research is completed), progress on the IT platform, current local authority support - those who will actually run the scheme and developments in Scotland - they seem to be forging ahead with their scheme.

It seems the FSA may have decided to change the name of the Scores on Doors Scheme to Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. This is not yet reflected in their website, but appears in some of the literature. A decision on the name and branding is expected by the end of July.

Guidance on Scores on Doors Scheme

A leaflet has been produced for businesses, explaining the national scheme.

Included in the Feb 2010 Scores on Doors update.

endorsement of guidance on scoring using Annex 5 of the Food Law Code of Practice;
guidance on the agreed bandings for the six tiers of the scheme;
guidance on the mechanism for businesses to request a re-visit to be re-scored.

Detailed guidance has been produced for the Scottish two-tier scheme implementation.

An update on Scores on Doors progress, issued in October details decisions on scope - which businesses will be included, and has a useful decision tree on the last page.

Draft guidance to local authorities was published in October on:

the scope of the scheme - which businesses are included, exempted or excluded and;
checklists for authorities on launching the scheme, either as a new scheme or migrating from a current Scores on Doors scheme.