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When you read stories like this one, the Food Standards Agency’s new food hygiene rating seems like a real godsend…

Council food safety officers visited the Thai restaurant in Stockbridge four times last year, and each time they returned, they found that the conditions there were leaving food products unfit for human consumption:

• Mouse droppings, insects and even a snail shell were found next to open food containers or even inside containers.
• Members of staff were not washing their hands when handling food and hair was found stuck to the inside surfaces of a freezer.
• Food was not being stored correctly, with some containers found next to the bin and raw and cooked meats stored too close together.
• Vegetables were prepared on the raw meat chopping board.

In total, inspectors found fourteen breaches of food safety regulations and although they issued a Food Hygiene Prohibition Notice, the restaurant’s manager quickly removed it from public view.

You don’t need food safety training to see that the conditions described above would present a significant risk of illness to all those who ate in the restaurant, and the severity of the situation is reflected in the judgement banning the manager from working in the food business for the next seven years.