A term probably originating in widespread public use with the TV Show The Generation Game in regards to the points scored by contestants, Scores on the doors is also now a term for publication or display of food hygiene or food safety inspection results of food businesses. Regulatory inspection results are published as either an inspection and compliance summary or, elsewhere, a grade or score is all that is published.
Contents
UK scheme
On 1 January 2005 the UK Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations came into effect and local councils slowly began to publish the information on the Internet and via certificates. However there was no uniform grading system and many councils chose their own schemes, thus making comparison difficult. On 10 December 2008 the Food Standards Agency (FSA) board decided to approve a 6-tier scheme called the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and a 2-tier (Pass/Improvement required) Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS) for Scotland.
From November 2013 it became compulsory for food businesses in Wales to display stickers, with similar legislation coming into force in Northern Ireland from October 2016. Also in October 2016 Rutland joined giving 100% coverage in UK. FSA is compiling evidence to commence introducing legislation for compulsory display of stickers in England.
The official UK government ratings website includes ratings for all UK regions and is mobile device friendly, although no app is provided. The FSA data is publicly available for download
Other commercial websites and smartphone apps are also available, together with reporting and analysis software to enable businesses to performance manage their compliance and compare with their competitors.
Australia
In Australia, where national food safety standards are brought into force by state government statutes and enforced at the state or local level, the New South Wales Food Authority commenced a pilot program with local governments in 2010 utilising A, B and C letter grades. This was expanded to a trial in participating local government areas in 2011 utilising an equivalent system of star ratings (5 stars, 4 stars, 3 stars) and an accompanying interpretive grade (Excellent, Very Good or Good) to reflect the degree of compliance with minimum food safety standards. In late 2013 the program was enhanced to encourage further take-up.
Participation in the program is voluntary.