Health and Safety bosses are currently powerless to close restaurants and cafes – even if they are failing to comply with the most basic hygiene practices.
And the department said that a new website – which reveals the star rating each establishment has received for its hygiene levels – has failed to persuade some failing eateries to improve standards because bosses know the department cannot shut them down.
But now, Caroline Maffia, the team leader for food safety and infectious diseases at the department, says that she is drafting a new law which would give the department the power to close eateries if they do not take action to achieve a three star rating – a mark signalling full compliance with the law.
Zero stars represents a failure to comply with the most basic elements of the law, while two stars signifies very low compliance and is also classed as a failure. There is no one-star rating.
‘The vast majority of places have responded really well – much better than we expected it to be,’ said Ms Maffia.
‘Only eight out of 909 places have a zero or two star rating, and we can take financial action against them. What we have found though is that after our initial assessment, a lot of the two star places have been perfectly happy with their rating and have no intention of changing anything.
‘I am drafting changes that will give us the missing part to ensure that hygiene is improved as it will create an offence for owners not to not comply,’ she added.
Under the current Eat Safe Rating system, all restaurants, cafés, bars, takeaways and all other establishments which sell food are given a zero to five star rating based on their adherence to the Jersey Food Law.
Since October, the star rating of every eating outlet in Jersey has been publicly listed.
Ms Maffia said that under the proposed new law, the length of time that would be allowed for the restaurant to comply with legislation before being closed down would vary, depending on what the owner had to implement to improve their rating.
She said that it was impossible to predict when the law could be in place, as the draft had to go through the Council of Ministers and then be debated in the States.
There are currently seven outlets that have a two star rating and only one – TJ’s Bar in St Helier – that has a zero star rating.
Ms Maffia said that ratings could be changed very quickly if owners reacted to the recommendations and asked for a re-assessment.
‘We will come as soon as owners want – the last thing we want to do is keep people of zero or two stars if they have made improvements,’ she said.
