This is how and why the Doncaster Free Press reports food hygiene ratings

More often than not, we’re bombarded with questions and regular complaints about reporting those ratings.

Here’s a little guide on how and why we report those ratings.

What are food hygiene ratings?

Ratings are determined on a scale of zero to five by the Food Standards Agency, in conjunction with local authorities across Britain. In the case of Doncaster, inspections are carried out by City of Doncaster Council inspectors.

The FSA’s job is to safeguard public health and protect the interests of consumers in relation to food.

Zero means urgent improvement necessary, while five means very good.

Businesses are visited in snap inspections and are assessed on a number of areas, such as hygiene, food storage and preparation etc. These factors are then taken into account and the venue is rated with an overall score between zero and five.

Why does the Free Press report them?

All ratings and inspections are uploaded to the Food Standards Agency website – so the information is freely, publicly available. You can see the website HERE

The FSA database allows you to search for any venue and check its rating at any time.

We think people have a right to know the standards and hygiene of Doncaster food businesses, which is why we report them.

We receive updates from the FSA on venues as ratings are uploaded.

You’ve got the rating wrong!

After a business is inspected, firms have the opportunity to in essence, ‘get their act together’ and apply to be re-inspected. This often applies to venues receiving poor ratings, who wish to improve.

Venues are given time to adjust their processes and then are visited again, where they can be given a new rating, usually much higher.

Often, there is a delay between the local authority submitting the information to the FSA and it being updated on the FSA website.

We consider the FSA to be the definitive authority on ratings, so once it is updated on there, we will amend any rating accordingly.

But I've sent you proof that my business now has a five not a zero!

It doesn’t matter.

We have had several instances in the past where businesses have sent us fake ratings or photos of ratings from other businesses to pretend they have a higher rating than they actually do. It is also possible to purchase fake ratings stickers online to trick people into believing businesses are rated higher than they actually are.

You may very well have a new certificate from City of Doncaster Council, but until it has been uploaded to the FSA website, which we consider the definitive authority, it doesn’t make any difference, unfortunately as we wish to avoid the untruths businesses sometimes go to to deceive us and customers.

You only highlight bad ratings!

Incorrect. We focus on both good and bad ratings – people have a right to know about the standards of hygiene of venues they are eating at in Doncaster.

You are ‘having a go’ at small businesses!

Again, we’re not. We’re simply reporting freely available information that’s in the public domain and that people have a right to know.

You don’t report on businesses with a negative rating which advertise with you

Again, totally incorrect. Whether a business advertises with us or not is totally irrelevant. We will cover hygiene ratings from any business.

If you have any other questions about our coverage of food hygiene ratings in Doncaster, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us via [email protected].