How many restaurants and takeaways in our area have had recent hygiene checks?

Do you ever notice food hygiene ratings when going to a restaurant or getting a takeaway?If so, have you ever paid attention to when that inspection was last carried out?The topic has come into the spotlight as a BBC investigation reveals that across the country, one in five restaurants and takeaways have not been visited by food inspectors for more than two years.

Environmental health teams say a recruitment crisis and a backlog from the pandemic are behind the trend.The data suggests that consumers face an increased risk of food poisoning and other serious health issues because of the crisis in food safety.But what is the situation in our area?

It seems like we are bucking the national trend in West Norfolk, where – out of a total of 618 businesses serving food – 519 have had a visit from a food hygiene inspector in the past two years. This means that 16% of restaurants in the area have not had an inspection since before 2022.Philippa Smith, environmental health manager for West Norfolk Council, said: “This is really important for everyone who buys food in West Norfolk, whether that’s from a restaurant, takeaway or a shop. “We work hard to make sure businesses understand what they need to do to provide safe food for people to buy and I’m pleased to say that most businesses work well with us and have good standards.“We have a risk-based approach so those businesses that haven’t been inspected for a couple of years are generally the ones who have previously shown really good practice in their inspections.“Where we see poor practice we tend to keep a closer watch and inspect more frequently. Where necessary we take action to protect people as public safety is our number one priority. “We have a small team and it’s great to see that their dedication is reflected in these results.”In comparison, in some areas of the country, as many as 68% of eateries have not had a food hygiene inspection in the past two years.A total of 57% have not been inspected for food hygiene in East Lindsey in the West Midlands since 2022.But Rochford in Essex has the highest percentage without an inspection over the last two years at 68%. On the other end of the scale, Hartlepool in the North East of England has only had 1% of its eateries not inspected since 2022.Out of the 595 eateries in North Norfolk, 30% (177) of them haven’t been visited by food hygiene inspectors since 2022.In Breckland, 8% (36 out of 429) of its restaurants and takeaways have not been in receipt of a hygiene rating in the last two years.Speaking on the national picture, head of local government at public services union Unison Mike Short said: “This is a serious public health issue.” He said: “Inspections are now so delayed that it’s perfectly possible for food businesses with shoddy hygiene practices to operate with little fear of ever being caught.”The BBC’s Shared Data Unit investigation comes amid heightened food safety concerns following an E-coli outbreak in June linked to contaminated products.Emily Miles, the chief executive of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which oversees food hygiene inspections in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said councils were generally getting through backlogs of high-risk inspections, which mounted during the Covid lockdowns.But she said the FSA was concerned lower-risk venues and new venues were not being checked. She said: “It’s something that could be a slow burn to a very uncomfortable and unhelpful situation. We have high food standards in this country – but it’s something you won’t know you’ve got until it’s gone.”A Food Standards Scotland (FSS) spokesman said the system was in need of reform, with the staffing levels of food safety officers currently at 47%.Meanwhile, Phoebe Clay, director of Unchecked UK – the UK’s largest network of civil society organisations making the case for better consumer protections – said food standards had been affected by a “general curtailment of enforcement activity”.She said: “It’s primarily the consequence of years of disinvestment into what used to be a pretty good system.”