30 September 2014
All food businesses in Jersey will soon be participating in a new scheme to provide consumers with information about the food hygiene standards of all premises which serve or sell food in the Island. There are more than 1,000 such businesses locally.
Food businesses rated on hygiene standards
The scheme, called “Eat Safe Jersey”, rates food businesses on their hygiene standards based on inspections carried out by the States of Jersey’s Environmental Health team.
Businesses are rated on a scale ranging from a top rating of ‘five stars, excellent’, to ‘no stars, very poor’. There is no one star rating.
Eat Safe Jersey applies to:
- restaurants
- takeaways
- cafes
- sandwich shops
- pubs
- hotels
- supermarkets
- other retail food outlets
The Environmental Health team are now writing to food businesses advising them of their Eat Safe rating and whether they'll receive a sticker and certificate to display at their premises.
By mid-October, a searchable online database will be available for members of the public so they can see at a glance the rating a food outlet has received. This will contain the results of food premises from five to zero. Premises will be searchable by name, parish or star rating.
The scheme is voluntary in terms of displaying the sticker or certificate, but all scores will be available on the online database.
Rating based on the last visit
The Eat Safe rating is based on the last visit to the premises by Environmental Health, which is an unannounced inspection that assesses a business based on food law and best practice standards.
The visit considers:
- how hygienically the food is handled, eg safe food preparation, cooking, cooling, re-heating and storage
- the condition of the structure of the premises, eg cleanliness, repair, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities
- how food safety is managed and documented
Businesses that are fully compliant with Jersey law obtain a minimum of three stars. If a venue can show it has implemented additional best practice guidance, it will be able to achieve a higher rating.
If a business scores a ‘no stars, very poor’ or ‘two stars, poor’, they are provided with all relevant guidance and information to enable it to improve. They will be targeted for more frequent inspections.
Standards may improve and equally standards may fall.
Well received scheme
The scheme was launched at an event in the Assembly Room, St Helier Town Hall on 30 September.
Caroline Maffia of the Environmental Health team, said “We are very pleased to be launching this scheme in Jersey and it has been well received. We hope that it will give Islanders and visitors peace of mind, and that it will encourage any outlet which serves food to maintain high standards of hygiene."
"The scheme is about promoting the good, very good and excellent (three, four and five stars) hygiene standards found in over 90% of our food businesses. The scheme allows businesses achieving three stars and above to display a window sticker and / or certificate. Those that score no stars, or two stars are not permitted to display a sticker or certificate.
"All businesses are capable of achieving five stars, which is a rating of “excellent.” This is not an elitist scheme; the cheapest café could have a gleaming, hygienic kitchen.”
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