More than 90% of Maidstone eateries with low food hygiene scores have not been displaying the correct rating - the Local Democracy Reporting Service takes us through this exclusive investigation.
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00:00Hello, and welcome to this Kentonite special, Behind the Hygiene Ratings. We've uncovered
00:28the scale of businesses in Maidstone lying about their cleanliness. In fact, it's around
00:3595%. They're either not displaying one at all, or inflating their certificate. Making
00:41a mockery of the system and misleading the public, the reaction, as experts say these
00:46businesses are increasing environmental health concerns. Yet one takeaway, displaying the
00:51wrong score, told us it's not a big deal. Our investigation has added to growing calls
00:57for mandatory displays. Local Democracy reporter Gabriel Morris has our Kentonite special,
01:02Behind the Hygiene Ratings.
01:05It's a scheme designed to help you make informed choices about where to eat or shop for food.
01:10But can you trust the ratings displayed in the window? Our investigation in Maidstone
01:15town centre uncovered discrepancies, with only one business with a lower rating displaying
01:21the correct score.
01:23You've probably all seen these stickers before. It's the rating which the local authority
01:28inspectors have given a food outlet. It's between 0 and 5, 5 being the best, 0 being
01:35the lowest. However, did you know it's not against the law for businesses to display
01:40an old rating, or an incorrect rating, which might be higher than they actually have?
01:46At the start of December, 22 outlets in Maidstone town centre had a food hygiene rating of 3
01:52or below. We found 12 of these businesses displaying no rating at all, 7 showing an
01:58inflated score, and 2 claiming they were awaiting inspection when they weren't. Altogether,
02:0595% of these businesses were not displaying their most recent certificate.
02:11This local chippy prides itself on its constant 5 star rating. The owners say the inaccuracies
02:16we found are making a mockery of the system.
02:19Personally, I think that's outrageous. I think to deceive the public is really wrong. It
02:25kind of puts down the fact that we have a 5 star and we work hard to keep that 5 star.
02:31So for us, it's part of our everyday routine. An inspector can come any time they want.
02:37It's not a problem at all. It's part of our everyday routine that we uphold temperature
02:41checks, food probes, calibrations, etc. So that's how we do things here.
02:48There are growing calls for England to follow Wales and Northern Ireland, where displaying
02:52accurate ratings is mandatory. It's thought that this change could prevent more than 4,000
02:58cases of foodborne illnesses annually. Reacting to our findings, Maidstone Borough Council
03:03says it supports tougher enforcement measures, but do potential customers in the town care
03:09that incorrect ratings are on display?
03:12I do look at what's being served. So like anything containing hygiene, I think we really
03:18need to take it seriously.
03:20Is it not against the law? Yeah, I am surprised. It's never occurred to me because I just naturally
03:25think they're good hygiene because they're on their shelves.
03:28I care about them, but I don't look at them to register what they are. It's not a case
03:33of, oh, the rating there's 5, we'll go in there.
03:37It's best to share that and to let people know whether it's a 4 rating or even a 5 rating.
03:41It's the same aspect as if you were to go in a hotel.
03:45Because of my stomach problem, I'm quite fussy and certain things I can't eat, so I have
03:50to look for those things. If you show me where it is, I'll go in another moment.
03:55So who are the businesses displaying incorrect ratings? Maidstone Coffee and Tea House displayed
04:01a 5-star certificate, despite having a rating of 1. They told us they will remove their
04:06sign immediately, pointing out that the sign is no longer there.
04:11Polito's Smashed Burgers displayed a 5-star rating, when their current score is 2. They
04:16told us they previously held a 5, but following an inspection this summer, they dropped and
04:21they're working to get that rating reinstated.
04:24Chunky Sandwich Bar had a 3-star rating, but displayed an outdated certificate, saying
04:30this was an oversight and they've removed stickers from the outside windows. But a sign
04:34that's seen on a drinks cabinet had been brought in from a separate location and that
04:38sticker has now been removed.
04:41Wingo's Chicken Shop displayed a 4-star certificate, when its ranking was 3. The management dismissed
04:46the issue, saying it's not a big deal with everything online. They also say the sign
04:51belonged to a previous owner.
04:53Akin's Food also displayed a 4-star rating, when its score was 3. The business stated
04:58they were awaiting re-inspection, but hadn't yet occurred.
05:02Now the following businesses did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
05:06Kent International Food Centre displays a 4-star certificate, despite a rating of 2.
05:11This Bulgarian restaurant displays a 5-star certificate, whilst holding a rating of 3.
05:16This Vietnamese street food business, and also Pepe's Peri Peri Chicken, are both displaying
05:21an awaiting inspection sticker. It's understood that Pepe's will be re-inspected soon.
05:27To me, it is cheating. It's trying to fool on the public. Those with the lower scores,
05:32particularly the very low scores, the 0s, the 1s and 2s, they basically have some major
05:38issues in terms of the ability to keep their premises as they should be in terms of safety.
05:45Chris, as somebody living in Northern Ireland where displaying ratings is mandatory, do
05:50you think that's working?
05:52I have never found a business to display the wrong score. And we have the highest rating
05:58across the whole of the UK. It just shows when it is compulsory, businesses actually
06:03see it as an opportunity, something that they have to do, because the business is next door
06:08and the next door to that, they'll have the 4 and 5-star ratings.
06:12In Wales and Northern Ireland, businesses can be fined for displaying incorrect ratings.
06:17The system has proven effective, with record numbers of businesses achieving higher scores.
06:21Whilst the government did not respond to our request for comment, both the Food Standard
06:26Agency and local authorities confirmed that displaying an incorrect rating could amount
06:31to breaching trading standards laws.
06:34Gabriel Morris in Maidstone.
06:38Gabriel joins me in the studio now. Gabriel, some shocking findings there from your investigation.
06:45It leaves me wondering, how are businesses getting away with this?
06:49Yeah, quite right, Abbie. As you heard in my report, this is legal, what these businesses
06:53are doing. In England, there is no legislation saying that you have to display the correct
06:58food hygiene rating score. As I said at the end of the report there, in Wales and Northern
07:03Ireland, that is a different matter. A few years ago, they introduced a law that means
07:08they have to display the right score. And if they don't, well, then they can receive
07:12a fine from the local authority. Over there, the Food Standards Agency says that is working
07:17really effectively, and they're seeing record numbers of businesses with high scores. And
07:22also, it's around about 90% of businesses are displaying the certificates, compared
07:27to around 60% as an overall figure here in England.
07:30Now, let me just remind you of some of the statistics we found. There were around 22
07:38displaying a rating of 3 or below. 12 of those were not displaying any at all, 7 showing
07:44an inflated rating, and 2 awaiting inspection, as we said. We could only find one with a
07:48correct score.
07:51Why are they displaying the wrong ratings, of course? Is this to try and draw more customers
07:56in?
07:56Well, I don't think we'll really know the answer to that. None of the businesses gave
08:00us an explicit answer when we approached them for comment on this story. However, it's thought
08:05maybe it could be a genuine mistake in some cases. Or if they've originally had a 5, which
08:11some of these businesses have had, but then they've been pulled down on something on a
08:15recent inspection to a 1 or a 0, well, they don't want to advertise that. They want to
08:20keep that 5 in the window as it looks good. Customers do see that, and it gives confidence.
08:25But it's hard to tell for individual different businesses.
08:28And there are calls for mandatory displays. Are we any closer to that?
08:33Well, since we put this report up online this morning, I have had a few conversations and
08:37positive discussions with the sort of people who can make change on this. We hopefully
08:42will be able to expand on that a little bit more as time progresses. But the general consensus
08:47is that this should change. That's what Maidstone Borough Council have said. This is what the
08:52Food Standards Agency has said. And this is what the Institute of Environmental Health
08:56has also said.
08:58Now, on that, they've told us the reason why this has been in place is because of the previous
09:03Conservative administration. They were talking to them, and so was the Food Standards Agency
09:08during their term, saying, you need to bring this in. However, that they believe the reason
09:12they didn't is because the Conservatives didn't want to be an anti-state government. However,
09:17this is what he said to us this week.
09:20I mean, it is totally counterintuitive. You introduce a system and the system is there
09:25to protect people, but you're actually telling businesses, well, don't worry, you don't have
09:28to do it properly. It's really quite, quite poor. But of course, we have a new government
09:33and new administration, and it is an unbelievable win for the government. You're protecting
09:40people. There's no additional costs associated with this. Food businesses are already paying
09:45for the service. But what we're doing is we're protecting people by mandating that it has
09:50to be displayed.
09:51It's worth noting, we did approach the government for comment on this, but they didn't respond
09:56to our request.
09:58It leaves a conversation that needs to be had, especially as a journalist when you're
10:02investigating this, about naming the businesses. Because what they're doing, as you've said,
10:06is not in fact illegal. But why did you come to that conclusion that you needed to name
10:10these businesses and show them as you have done in your report?
10:13Yeah, we spent some time going through the data we found, the businesses we found, and
10:18what scores they were displaying, whether or not we were to name them or not. However,
10:23we do believe this passed a public interest test. That's something that journalists go
10:26through when doing a story like this, whether or not to name a business or not. Now, you
10:30might be right. They're not doing anything necessarily illegal. However, the Food Standards
10:34Agency and Maidstone Borough Council have both told us there is definitely a case that
10:38it could be breaching trading standards. And as customers who eat and drink there, there
10:43could be an environmental health concern, as we heard from the Institute for Environmental
10:46Health.
10:47And how have our viewers and those on Kent Online reacted to this report?
10:51Most people are joining in on those calls for it to be mandatory. Most people weren't
10:54actually aware it wasn't already. Now, let's just take a look at a couple of the comments
10:57which have come through, saying the system is outdated and stricter measures are needed,
11:02pointing out a business like Gavin. He's the one who ran the chippy in my report, but they
11:05work hard to get that five-star rating. It's unfair it's making a mockery, as Gavin said.
11:09And we'll go to another one. This is an interesting comment that somebody has said. We'll just
11:14get it up on the screen. Yeah. So they said, surely it'd be better for the Food Standards
11:17Agency to display rating stickers to make it compulsory with QR codes. Now, this is
11:22a good point. If you are concerned about going out to a business to trust the stickers, you
11:26can go to the Food Standards Agency website, where they will display the correct score
11:30on the Food Standards Agency website.
11:32Gabriel, a very interesting report. Thank you very much for all those details. That's
11:36all we've got time for, for right now. Bye-bye.
11:52Bye-bye.