Food Safety Gradings - Restaurants

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networkn

Networkn
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#128723 21-Aug-2013 12:59

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11111714

Some pretty well known establishments being given very low ratings. Anyone know if when you get a rating they check just the premises, or if you make food at another location and just sell it at the location if they check the other location as well?

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#882516 22-Aug-2013 06:51

Wow, there are some surprises in there.

Inphinity

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#882527 22-Aug-2013 07:44

If the food is prepared at a different location, that location would have it's own grading. Can't really say I'm surprised by any of those grades, though.

tardtasticx

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#882544 22-Aug-2013 08:34

I don't understand how some of these places operate on low grades, I've often walked out of a place if its grade isn't an A because friends have worked in the food industry and have told me many times how damn easy it is to get a high grade

robjg63

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#882612 22-Aug-2013 09:58

If they dont have a grading prominently displayed then its going to be bad.

They have to be pretty bad to get those D and E ratings - like really bad!

Interesting there were a couple of places that I think are franchises. The other franchise owners will be really annoyed because it makes them all look bad.

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shaneg

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#882630 22-Aug-2013 10:20

If you're referring to Hollywood bakery, they are a chain, not a franchise, they only just started franchising.
It's owned by Auckland Bakeries who also own Eves Pantry, another chain and they also supply all the BP pies etc.

While it is easy to get an A, it's quite easy to lose it, such as not recording temperatures, not having enough food safety certificates, things put in fridges incorrectly.
Also they are stricter on franchises and lower end establishments as higher end places have trained chefs not minimum wage slaves so to speak.

TechSol

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#882688 22-Aug-2013 11:49

shaneg: If you're referring to Hollywood bakery, they are a chain, not a franchise, they only just started franchising.
It's owned by Auckland Bakeries who also own Eves Pantry, another chain and they also supply all the BP pies etc.

.

I thought BP pies were "dad's Pies"?

vexxxboy

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#882717 22-Aug-2013 12:34

you have to put it in perspective, i wouldnt think many private Kitchens would pass the tests and that dosent seem to worry people.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

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alasta

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#882728 22-Aug-2013 12:46

vexxxboy: you have to put it in perspective, i wouldnt think many private Kitchens would pass the tests and that dosent seem to worry people.

On the contrary, one of the main reasons I prefer to prepare food at home rather than getting takeaways is that I know that proper food handling is practiced in my own kitchen.

shaneg

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#882736 22-Aug-2013 13:11

TechSol:
shaneg: If you're referring to Hollywood bakery, they are a chain, not a franchise, they only just started franchising.
It's owned by Auckland Bakeries who also own Eves Pantry, another chain and they also supply all the BP pies etc.

.

I thought BP pies were "dad's Pies"?

Yes, just the pies, I meant all the other stuff, pastries etc

vexxxboy

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#882793 22-Aug-2013 14:27

alasta:
vexxxboy: you have to put it in perspective, i wouldnt think many private Kitchens would pass the tests and that dosent seem to worry people.

On the contrary, one of the main reasons I prefer to prepare food at home rather than getting takeaways is that I know that proper food handling is practiced in my own kitchen.

that sort of proves my point , if a health inspector went into your Kitchen at home and followed the regulations to the same standard as a takeaway restaurant, your kitchen would probably be closed and yet you would have no problem eating food made in your kitchen.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

mattwnz

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#882806 22-Aug-2013 14:57

vexxxboy:
alasta:
vexxxboy: you have to put it in perspective, i wouldnt think many private Kitchens would pass the tests and that dosent seem to worry people.

On the contrary, one of the main reasons I prefer to prepare food at home rather than getting takeaways is that I know that proper food handling is practiced in my own kitchen.

that sort of proves my point , if a health inspector went into your Kitchen at home and followed the regulations to the same standard as a takeaway restaurant, your kitchen would probably be closed and yet you would have no problem eating food made in your kitchen.

I don't see your point. I too prefer to prepare in my kitchen, because I know that proper food prepartion has been carried out, and you know what the ingredients are and you can buy the good quality ingredients. eg hands washed, clean surfaces and utensiles washed in dishwasher, no cross contamination etc. Never had any food poisoning from my own cooked food. This is unlike eating from takeaways or restaurants, when I have had food poisoning twice. (I know it was cause by the food outlet because I wasn't the only one affected)
A home kitchen wouldn't meet council requirements anyway, as a commerical kitchen has all sorts of requirements, but that doesn't mean a home kitchen is less safe to cook in.
For one, the lights must be enclosed so there is no risk of glass bulbs breaking onto food. Windows must have vents to prevent flies, floor covering must extend up the sides of walls etc.

PaulBags

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#883059 22-Aug-2013 21:50

shaneg: ... While it is easy to get an A, it's quite easy to lose it, such as not recording temperatures, not having enough food safety certificates, things put in fridges incorrectly. ...

Well just on those standards alone how many supermarkets wouldn't get an A grade?

DravidDavid

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#883081 22-Aug-2013 22:23

This seems to be a special case, but I honestly think most of the time these ratings are down to the food saftey officer in the area.

Like in Massey, pretty much everywhere is "B". Never had a problem eating anywherebin Massey though. Ive always just noticed ratings seem to be clustered together depending on the area.

shaneg

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#883142 23-Aug-2013 07:46

PaulBags:
shaneg: ... While it is easy to get an A, it's quite easy to lose it, such as not recording temperatures, not having enough food safety certificates, things put in fridges incorrectly. ...

Well just on those standards alone how many supermarkets wouldn't get an A grade?

They were exempt along with McDonald's, bk etc as they used to have their own internal programme, that may have changed now, but the difference from an A and a 'golden A' was they record temperatures of fridges and anything that's held at temperature for a period of time.

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#883147 23-Aug-2013 08:15

mattwnz:
vexxxboy:
alasta:
vexxxboy: you have to put it in perspective, i wouldnt think many private Kitchens would pass the tests and that dosent seem to worry people.

On the contrary, one of the main reasons I prefer to prepare food at home rather than getting takeaways is that I know that proper food handling is practiced in my own kitchen.

that sort of proves my point , if a health inspector went into your Kitchen at home and followed the regulations to the same standard as a takeaway restaurant, your kitchen would probably be closed and yet you would have no problem eating food made in your kitchen.

I don't see your point. I too prefer to prepare in my kitchen, because I know that proper food prepartion has been carried out, and you know what the ingredients are and you can buy the good quality ingredients. eg hands washed, clean surfaces and utensiles washed in dishwasher, no cross contamination etc. Never had any food poisoning from my own cooked food. This is unlike eating from takeaways or restaurants, when I have had food poisoning twice. (I know it was cause by the food outlet because I wasn't the only one affected)
A home kitchen wouldn't meet council requirements anyway, as a commerical kitchen has all sorts of requirements, but that doesn't mean a home kitchen is less safe to cook in.
For one, the lights must be enclosed so there is no risk of glass bulbs breaking onto food. Windows must have vents to prevent flies, floor covering must extend up the sides of walls etc.

I thought that alasta's point is based on what you "know" about how a specific meal is prepared rather than on a historic rating which only indicates the likely safety of a specific meal at a restaurant.

Anyway, as you say, the comparison of safety gradings for a commercial food outlet is very different to safe food preparation in a domestic kitchen. The grading checklist, what affects food safety gradings in Auckland, is pretty extensive and almost all of us who practice high levels of kitchen hygiene would not get an A grade because there are a range of practices that don't directly affect the food but are 'protective' in the longer term: records, induction and ongoing training, equipment servicing, fittings, etc.
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