Friday 11 March 2011

Food hygiene in Cardiff eateries: zero-ratings and top marks

Yesterday, as a result of inspections made implementing Cardiff Council’s food hygiene rating system that came into force last October, it was announced that eleven food premises in the city had been zero-rated. Based on food hygiene criteria issued by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), a zero rating is indicative of habitual bad practice that could potentially lead to contamination. “Urgent improvement is necessary” for those businesses.

Some of the businesses named may surprise you. They are: The Haraf Restaurant in Grangetown, Oasis in Grangetown, Bar Sicilia in Canton, Deshi Hat in Canton, The Old Library in The Hayes, The Unicorn in Old St Mellons, The Woodville Fish Bar in Cathays, Uncle Sam’s in Cathays, The Café in Butetown, Morgan’s Fish Bar in Caroline Street, and The Plan Café Bar in the Morgan Arcade.

The Guardian and The Independent have previously listed The Plan in their Top 50 snackbar and coffee shops in the UK surveys. However, I was much less impressed when I eat there recently (Blog for 2 March) and it didn’t make my Top 10 Cardiff eateries listing. The Old Library is also in a prime location and not the sort of place you would expect to fall foul of these ratings, which assess basic food hygiene such as checking food temperature, expiry dates on packaging, and dirty work surfaces.

Food premises are rated on a scale of 0 to 5. Following inspection, businesses are sent a certificate and a sticker that they can display. Rating 1 is “major improvement necessary”, rating 2 is “improvement necessary”, rating 3 is “generally satisfactory”, and rating 4 is “good”.

A 5 rating is indicative of “very good” food hygiene. Establishments in Cardiff with a 5 rating include Aberconway Snack Bar in Cathays, Bosphorus in Cardiff Bay, First Cafes Ltd (who run The Hayes Island Snack Bar), Le Monde, Market Deli, Nandos, Wally's Delicatessen, Yangs Chinese in Grangetown, and Zync in St Mary Street.

You can find the rating for any food business that has been inspected in the UK for yourself using the FSA website. For example, type “Cardiff” or the name of your meal destination for tonight into the search box at:
http://ratings.food.gov.uk/

Main source and further information:
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/cardiffonline/cardiff-news/2011/03/10/city-s-zero-rated-food-premises-revealed-91466-28309918/

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