HUNDREDS of Coventry eateries issued with food hygiene warnings

[dutchman]

The shock figures show that more than a quarter of restaurants and takeaways in the city have been contacted in the last 12 months



MORE than 650 places serving food in Coventry were issued a warning over hygiene issues last year.

That equates to almost 25 per cent of all premises that prepare and serve food across the city.

The data released by the country’s official food watchdog shows that 361 establishments across the area were given a written warning concerning hygiene in 2015/2016.

The information comes from the city council as the Food Standards Agency collects data from councils across the country to find out how often they have inspected premises, and what they have done to ensure that hygiene laws are met.

The laws cover anyone preparing and serving food, which is not just pubs and restaurants as many might expect, it also covers places like schools and hospitals.

A written warning is considered ‘informal’ enforcement, and according to the FSA includes any communication with an owner or manager of a business saying that infringements of hygiene legislation have been found.

Elsewhere in the area, nearly half of all places serving food in Nuneaton and Bedworth were issued a warning over hygiene issues last year.

This is one of the highest rates across the country, 46.5 per cent of all the premises in the borough which prepare food were written to.

The council has said that it is required to write to all food premises after a food hygiene inspection, except those who have achieved the top score of five.

The National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (NFHRS) requires the councils to inform the proprietor in writing of what actions they could take in order to get a higher rating.

The system which records the council’s interventions with food businesses automatically calls it a ‘written warning’ but in many cases the letters will contain guidance of minor contraventions.

Although many of the businesses in the borough have been given an informal warning, none have been handed the lowest food hygiene rating of zero, and only four in the borough have been given a rating of one.

Coun Barry Longden, portfolio holder for health and environment said that the overall compliance rating from businesses who deal with the Environmental Health team in the borough is high.

He said: “The fact, if it is a fact, that some establishments may have been sent letters probably stems from the legal requirement to inform, rather than any sinister reason that they may be in breach of a regulation.

“I will not be commenting on raw data that is not backed up by evidence because the regulatory framework is far too complex to just headline, and try to sensationalise, a set of numbers.

“I am more than satisfied that environmental health in Nuneaton and Bedworth is doing an excellent job.”

Almost all of the food businesses in the borough have a food hygiene rating of three (satisfactory) or above, with 98 per cent falling into those categories and 454 given the top rating of five.

In North Warwickshire it was 37.6 per cent - or more than one in three, while in Rugby it was 30.7 per cent, and in Stratford it was comparably low at 18.2 per cent.

Across the UK as a whole, the number of food hygiene written warnings rose from 160,205 to 162,029.

[dutchman]

ZERO food hygiene restaurants and takeaways in Coventry and Warwickshire

If you're heading out for food this weekend, make sure you read below.

We have rounded up all the food establishments in Coventry and Warwickshire to help you make an informed decision of where you should eat - and where you should avoid.

Our map below shows you the restaurants and takeaways which currently hold the lowest rating for food hygiene in the city and surrounding region.

Hygiene inspectors serve any establishment which sells food a rating of between zero and the highest mark of five.

A zero rating means urgent improvements need to be undertaken, with food hygiene inspections carried out regularly by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

Food sellers rated 'zero' in Coventry and Warwickshire

*name | address | date of inspection listed below

Euro Supermarket | 152B Murray Road, Rugby, CV21 3JR | 04/12/2015

K & A Hope & Son | 117-119 Railway Terrace, Rugby, CV21 3EY | 27/07/2016

Romna Restaurant | 39 Albert Street, Rugby, CV21 2SG | 19/01/2016

Rugby Grill House | 56 Church Street, Rugby, CV21 3PT | 10/02/2016

Spice Hut | 20 Market Place, Warwick, CV34 4SL | 10/08/2016

Quids Inn | 117-118 Gosford Street, Coventry, CV1 5DL | 03/03/2016

Dosa Village | 135 Stratford Road, Shirley, Solihull | B90 3AY

Sukhis Simply Fresh | Roseland Stores, 57 Roseland Road, Kenilworth, CV8 1GA | 04/08/2016