More than 20,000 Wokingham people check out Scores on the Doors
More than 20,000 requests to check how hygienic and well managed eateries and food outlets are in the Wokingham Borough have been made in the past 10 weeks alone.
The Scores on the Doors project has seen around 2,000 requests for information from members of the public come in each week since Wokingham Borough Council launched the initiative in the borough on June 23, 2008.
Scores on the Doors is a national system that takes into account the food hygiene and management scores of all food business in a particular area and gives each business, whether it’s a kebab van, café or top restaurant, a star rating.*
It focuses on basic hygiene practices like clean work surfaces and floors, ensuring fridges and freezers are set to the correct temperature and that staff are trained correctly. It does not seek to provide a critique of what quality and type of food is on the menu.
Requests for star ratings are instant and can be made on the Scores on the Doors website, which can be found at www.wokingham.gov.uk/scores, or by text. Some restaurants have also chosen to display their rating on a sticker outside the premises.
A surge of Wokingham requests have been via the website in the last few weeks in the wake of the BBC programme Rogue Restaurants, where Yates’s in Reading was featured. There were more than 880 requests for star ratings in the Wokingham Borough the day after the programmed aired.
Environmental health officers have recently spent a lot of time working and educating poorer performing restaurants and out of the eight zero star food businesses that have been formally inspected and risk rated since the scheme was launched seven have improved to two stars or more.
Star ratings can only go up or down after a food business is fully inspected by Wokingham Borough Council’s environmental health team. The inspectors are independent and use national criteria set out by the Food Standard Agency to rate businesses.
Any Wokingham business that has changed its management or hygiene practice since the last full inspection can request a new full inspection. A charge will be made for this. Changes will then be reflected in a new star rating if standards have improved or worsened.
Premises that change ownership must tell the council straight away so that an appropriate inspection can be carried out a star rating awarded accordingly.
The Scores on the Doors project has seen around 2,000 requests for information from members of the public come in each week since Wokingham Borough Council launched the initiative in the borough on June 23, 2008.
Scores on the Doors is a national system that takes into account the food hygiene and management scores of all food business in a particular area and gives each business, whether it’s a kebab van, café or top restaurant, a star rating.*
It focuses on basic hygiene practices like clean work surfaces and floors, ensuring fridges and freezers are set to the correct temperature and that staff are trained correctly. It does not seek to provide a critique of what quality and type of food is on the menu.
Requests for star ratings are instant and can be made on the Scores on the Doors website, which can be found at www.wokingham.gov.uk/scores, or by text. Some restaurants have also chosen to display their rating on a sticker outside the premises.
A surge of Wokingham requests have been via the website in the last few weeks in the wake of the BBC programme Rogue Restaurants, where Yates’s in Reading was featured. There were more than 880 requests for star ratings in the Wokingham Borough the day after the programmed aired.
Environmental health officers have recently spent a lot of time working and educating poorer performing restaurants and out of the eight zero star food businesses that have been formally inspected and risk rated since the scheme was launched seven have improved to two stars or more.
Star ratings can only go up or down after a food business is fully inspected by Wokingham Borough Council’s environmental health team. The inspectors are independent and use national criteria set out by the Food Standard Agency to rate businesses.
Any Wokingham business that has changed its management or hygiene practice since the last full inspection can request a new full inspection. A charge will be made for this. Changes will then be reflected in a new star rating if standards have improved or worsened.
Premises that change ownership must tell the council straight away so that an appropriate inspection can be carried out a star rating awarded accordingly.
Wokingham Borough Council
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