British Hospitality Association cautiously welcomes national food hygiene rating scheme

The research showed that many consumers were concerned that a six-tier scheme would be too complicated, a position which has been long held by the BHA. However, although the six-tier scheme will go ahead, the association welcomes the introduction of a national scheme which every local authority will be expected to follow. "A scheme in which some local authorities introduced their own standards, sometimes 'gold plating' the law, was clearly undesirable," says John Dyson, the BHA's food and technical adviser. "A national scheme will ensure that there are uniform standards throughout the country." He said that the BHA still believed that six tiers, with the top three ranging from fully compliant to broadly compliant, was far more complicated than the Scottish two-tier scheme of 'pass' and 'fail'. "But we welcome the decision not to award stars to each rating, which was another of our principal concerns. We are pleased our view prevailed. Stars would have been confusing to the public and could have implied that they related to the standard of food. It is far more satisfactory to have a simple numerical scale and descriptors such as 'satisfactory or 'very good' Mr Dyson said that other BHA concerns had also been addressed, including the ability of operators to appeal against a rating decision and to ask for a revisit. "The fact the FSA is to offer guidance to local authorities in implementing the scheme is a very welcome move. What is needed in this area is consistency."