Scores on the Doors

From 13 October 2008 Spelthorne launches a brand new scheme which gives consumers the chance to make informed choices about where they eat or buy their food.

'Scores on the Doors' is a way of finding out about the food hygiene standards of local food businesses. Under the scheme, cafes, restaurants, pubs, shops and business selling food are given a 'star' rating to show how well they comply with food safety standards. The better the standard, the higher the star rating! Five stars is the highest rating and zero is the lowest.

There are four ways you can get this information:

check out the Scores on the Doors website
send a text message - type in SOTD, name of the business area (e.g. Staines) and send to 60060.*
ask the business directly
look in the window or on the door of a restaurant to see if they are displaying a 'Scores on the Doors' sticker or certificate.

The following table shows what each star rating means:

Star rating	Standard achieved	Definition
Five stars	Excellent	Very high standards of food safety management. Fully compliant with food safety law.
Four stars	Very good	Good food safety management. High standard of compliance with food safety law.
Three stars	Good	Good level of legal compliance. Some more effort might be required.
Two stars	Fair	Broadly compliant with food safety law. More effort is required to meet all legal requirements.
One star	Poor	Poor level of compliance with food safety law. Much more effort is required.
No Stars	Very poor	A general failure to comply with legal requirements. Little or no appreciation of food safety. Major effort is required.

You can find more information about Scores on the Doors by viewing the frequently asked questions (FAQs) section.

Information for food businesses:
The scheme will include food businesses that have to register with the Borough of Spelthorne who have received a food hygiene inspection since 1 April 2007. However it will exclude low risk premises (e.g. greengrocers and chemists) which are not routinely inspected.

How is your score calculated?
The star rating you are awarded is calculated on the risk score your business has received as a result of your last inspection. This score can usually be found on the last page of your inspection report. The conversion table from score to stars is detailed below. For example if you scored 5 for food hygiene, 5 for structure and 5 for confidence in management, this gives a total score of 15 which converts to 4 stars.

To convert your score into a star rating, add up the three compliance scores for:

Food hygiene
Structure and
Confidence in management

And then look up the star rating in this table:

Total of three Scores	Description	Stars
0 - 5	Excellent	5
10 - 15	Very Good	4
20 - 25	Good	3
30 - 35	Fair	2
40 - 45	Poor	1
over 45	Major Improvement Required	0

Updating the website
After an official inspection or a re-assessment, the score will be put on the website within 14 days. The score is then available for review by the public via this page on the Council website or the national website www.scoresonthedoors.org.uk

Appeals
Where a food business owner strongly disagrees with an inspection score, an appeal, preferably in writing, should be made to the Head of Environmental Health and Building Control Services within 14 days of the inspection, setting out the specific reasons for the disagreement.

* Customers must be 16+ and have bill payer's permission. Texts cost 50p plus one sms message at network rate. Helpline 0845 638 3148 or e-mail mobile@sotd.tv