More pubs to get top hygiene grades

More pubs are expected to receive a top rating in the national Scores on the Doors food-hygiene scheme under the latest changes.

The scheme will see food venues given a star rating for hygiene standards, from zero to five. Nearly 100 councils currently run versions of the initiative and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) wants to devise a standardised format for a national roll-out.

The FSA has now decided to implement a "broad top band" scoring system, which means a lower overall score will be needed in order to achieve a top grade.

It followed discussions with the steering group, which includes representatives of the industry, councils and other stakeholders.

FSA head of enforcement Sarah Appleby said: "A broad top band represents a fairer scoring system for food

businesses. It will mean that local authorities can concentrate their resources on helping the high-risk establishments at the lower end of the scale to improve their rating."

Admiral Taverns' head of food development Sam Pedder said: "I do like the idea of making the brackets wider but my question would be: 'how wide?'"

She said one problem could be that operators who achieve five stars after scoring, say, 85 out of 100 could feel aggrieved that another site that scored 60 was classed in the same bracket.

"Maybe we will end up with 'five-star A' and five-star B'," Pedder said. "It's unbelievably tricky — and that's why rollout has taken this long."

She backed national standards for Scores on the Doors in principle, pointing to the inconsistencies across councils at the moment.

Meanwhile, an FSA spokeswoman said no implementation date for the national rollout is currently available.