One of the first businesses I ever inspected under the National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (National FHRS) in the UK was a medium sized restaurant in a small market town.
The owner was very knowledgeable on food hygiene matters, the structure was to an excellent standard and the kitchen was incredibly clean.
Unfortunately, the owner had been in the trade for many years and couldn't see the benefits of having a documented food safety management system. Although he had been provided with a pack by the Local Authority, he had never bothered to complete it as he didn't see the point.
He had been informed by previous officers (on several occasions) that it was now a legal requirement to have such a document, but for many years he ignored their advice and just kept the blank document locked away safely in a cupboard, never seeing any repercussions for his stubbornness.
Unfortunately for him, in 2008 the Local Authority I worked for joined the national FHRS and one of the scoring requirements to achieve a 5* rating was to have "food safety management / procedures in place, appropriate for the size and nature of the business" with "food safety management records (once again appropriate for size and nature) generally maintained"
He had neither.
Although nothing else was wrong and I'd have been more than happy to dine there myself, I had to award him a score of 0* as he had no documented procedures or records whatsoever.
He was stuck with that score for 3 months. The definition of 0* is "Urgent Improvement Needed" and is not really an enticing descriptor for prospective diners!!
The owner, as is his right, requested a re-score visit 3 months later and with a now, robust and fully completed documented food safety management system in place, with up to date monitoring and records, he scored a 5*.
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