Dish the dirt on places that put diners in danger

DIRTY restaurants are putting diners at risk. The warning came from food expert Steve Bacon who said the authorities were not doing enough to protect the public.

He wanted restaurants named and shamed.

'Producing food in dirty conditions is putting people's lives at risk - that is the seriousness of it,' said Mr Bacon, a catering lecturer at the College of Further Education for 20 years.

'I would go further than Environmental Health does now. Every establishment should be treated as high-risk and all should have regular compulsory inspections.'

Mr Bacon said that several local restaurants were unfit to serve food.

'Some of the establishments I have had to send students to are, quite frankly, no-go areas.

'People do not realise the severity of this issue.'

After gaining unprecedented access to files at Environmental Health, the Guernsey Press last week printed pictures of some of the island's filthiest restaurants.

But chief environmental health official John Cook reassured islanders that the establishments highlighted were the exception.

'They were not typical of the standards found in Guernsey food premises but represent the very small minority that bring catering into disrepute and put consumers' health at risk,' said Mr Cook.

He defended Environmental Health's monitoring procedures.

'We take action to protect consumers whenever unsatisfactory hygiene conditions are discovered.

'Each environmental health officer has the authority to formally require the immediate closure of premises or the cessation of a catering activity when there is an immediate risk to public health.

'The action taken depends upon the judged level of risk involved.'

Mr Cook said the number of food-poisoning cases in the island had fallen in recent years.

Environmental Health operates a Hygiene Award scheme for businesses achieving especially high standards.

'The voluntary scheme and the achievement of standards higher than the legal minimum requirements will become the accepted benchmark only if customers demand it.

'Perhaps it is time to ask why food businesses are not displaying the Hygiene Award logo rather than showing surprise at the few that do.'

Les Cotils Christian Centre is one of the few establishments with a Food Hygiene Award.

Les Cotils manager Paul Chambers said he was confident that the island's recognised top restaurants were clean and hygienic, but he would not be surprised to learn that many others were dirty.

'Food hygiene should be paramount in the catering industry. I do not understand how anybody could neglect their duties in that respect,' said Mr Chambers.

Les Cotils 'just had to be vigilant' to obtain its award.

He could not understand why so few of his competitors carried the hygiene logo.

Mr Chambers, whose wife was formerly a professor in microbiology, said it was right for caterers constantly to be fearful of poisoning their clients.

Mr Bacon said: 'Personally, I would like to see naming and shaming. Let the establishments face the consequences.'

Among the worst offences, he cited chefs failing to wash their hands after using the toilet and using soiled handkerchiefs.

'Many, many people come out of the toilet without washing their hands.

'To me, it is about conditioning from a young age. If parents do not teach their children to wash their hands after using the toilet, it is no wonder that those children continue failing to do so when they become adults.'

He added that even shops serving food should have regular rigorous inspections.

'For example, where a member of staff licks their fingers to open a bag and then handles your food - that is not on.'

* Carl Symes, president of the Guernsey Hotel and Tourism Association, said he could not comment on standards of food hygiene in Guernsey's restaurants without consulting his full committee.