Information for members of the public

If you are a member of the public and would like more information on the Scores on the Doors scheme we have produced these frequently asked questions. You can also download an information leaflet.

Q1) What is "scores on the doors"?

"Scores on the doors" is a scheme which allows the public to view the latest hygiene rating following a food hygiene inspection carried out by a Food Safety Inspector. The scores will be in the form of a star rating.

Q2) Why is the City and County of Swansea introducing the scheme?

Introducing scores on the doors in Swansea will bring many benefits to businesses and consumers within the City.

We believe that the scheme will drive up standards of food safety within food premises and will give the public the opportunity to make an informed choice about where they choose to eat or buy food based on food safety and hygiene standards.

It will also ensure that food businesses which are achieving consistently high standards are publicly recognised and rewarded and it will encourage those businesses where deficiencies are found to improve their standards of food hygiene leading to greater food safety compliance.

Q3) How will a food business get a star rating?

The Council is required to regularly inspect all businesses in the area that serve, prepare or sell food. Following a programmed food safety inspection the Officer will score the business based on a nationally agreed rating scheme. Amongst other factors scores are given for hygiene, structure and confidence in management.

Scores for these three are added up to give a total score and the total score is used to calculate a simple star rating for the business which reflects the conditions at the premises at the time of inspection.

Q4) What does the star rating mean?

The star rating lets you see at a glance the hygiene standards in the business at the time of inspection.

Q5) How can I find out what star rating is given to a particular premises?

Businesses are given a sticker with their star rating to voluntarily display on the door or window which should be visible from the outside of the premises so that the public can view the latest scores. They are also issued with a certificate to display inside the premise.

You can ask the business directly for their score if they are not displaying a sticker or certificate or you can look up the food business score on the Council's website. This list is regularly updated.

Q6) How do I know if the certificate on display is valid and genuine?

Following a food safety inspection the previous sticker and certificate will be collected and destroyed. Each certificate is printed on special security paper which makes it obvious to the Officer if it has been copied in any way. The sticker will have the Officer's signature on the back and will be dated.

Both the sticker and certificate will have a unique number on which can be cross checked with inspection records held by the Council. If you are in doubt or suspect the sticker or certificate on display is not genuine contact the Environment Department.

Q7) What do I do if the business is not displaying its certificate?

There may be a perfectly good reason for this. The business may still be awaiting an inspection or have been inspected and awaiting a new sticker and certificate to be issued. The business may not be given a sticker or certificate if it is subject to other types of intervention or inspection programmes that do not give a score (see Q8).

Q8) Which premises are included in the scheme?

We have tried to include as many food businesses as we can, however businesses may not be listed for any of the following reasons,

• Businesses that are operating from a home address are exempted due to data protection issues;
• Mobile traders;
• Premises handling low risk foods, such as fruit, vegetables, canned and other ambient shelf stable products;
• Certain manufacturing premises approved under regulation 853/2004;
• Premises where legal action is being considered or is in progress.
• Premises which have not been inspected yet.

Q9) What about the Welsh Food Hygiene Award Scheme?

At present the Scores on the Doors scheme will run alongside the Welsh Food Hygiene Award Scheme.

However, the same ratings are used to calculate the scores for both schemes.

Q10) Why are you using scores from 1^st January 2007?

This is to ensure that a representative sample of businesses' scores are publicised and to prevent the scenario whereby just a few businesses are listed and hence highlighted in the public domain.