Back in 2017, the Local Government Association called on the Government to use the opportunity of Brexit to strengthen food safety laws, and make the display of hygiene ratings mandatory in England.
Six years later, and much like many other mooted Brexit benefits, this is yet to materialise. Their display is still very much optional.
Scores On The Doors has been in the headlines this week, with the starling revelation that three Ashton food outlets have been 'awarded' zero stars out of a possible five following a visit by inspectors, meaning urgent improvement is needed. Anyone can report hygiene concerns to the environmental health team at Tameside Council, and despite stickers not having to be displayed, you can easily google a place you're thinking of visiting to find its most recent rating.
If I'm going out for a meal, or ordering a takeaway, it's increasingly a treasured treat nowadays. With the cost of food shopping continuing to soar, in spite of Rishi Sunak's boasts that he has single-handedly halved inflation (nothing to do with the independent Bank of England, then), a restaurant meal or even food delivered to your door feels like one of life's luxuries. You want to be fairly confident the meal won't lead to much of the next day being spent in the bathroom, without wishing to be too crude about it.
Back in 2019, before the pandemic, comedian Joe Lycett accused Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat of listing restaurants with a zero hygiene rating. He even pranked the companies by successfully setting up a food delivery company from a skip! One driver responded to a test order, collected the food from the skip, and delivered it to the presenter, all without batting an eyelid! Promises were made at the time to tighten things up, but I still don't see hygiene ratings featuring prominently on any of these websites. Yes, there are customer reviews, but how likely are these to be genuine? It's impossible to tell, sadly.
Surely a 'Brexit benefit' would be the ability to pass a law forcing companies to declare their rating on all of the delivery websites and apps, as well as in their windows in the case of a restaurant? There has been quite a bit of debate about the merits or otherwise of displaying calories on menus. I'd much rather concern myself with whether or not I'm going to fall ill after scoffing someone's food, personally. Much more needs to be done to name and shame the bad places, and big up the good ones, who thankfully still make up the vast majority.
In other food and drink news, I tried Christmas pudding Walker's crisps this week, and can recommend them highly if you like mince pies. They are like a slightly more savoury twist on the sweet treat! With December looming, it's great to see Ashton's Christmas lights twinkling away after dark, and of course more are being switched on this weekend in Top Mossley, Micklehurst and Stalybridge, amongst other places. I hope this festive season we can find that nice spirit of kindness that I felt existed in the UK during the Covid pandemic's early stages.
From neighbours helping each other out with shopping deliveries to simply checking in on each other, there was a less divisive feel to things, even when we were collectively going through a really tough time. The Covid enquiry makes me shudder with some of the revelations of what was going on after the press briefings we all watched nightly, but most of us ordinary folk tried to do the right thing, thankfully. Social media, politics, and world events combine to give us the sense there's not much kindness left in the world. I hope we can all seek some out during December, and remember Christmas is not primarily about spending money we can't afford on lavish gifts. The small things count for a lot, from a text to a friend you've not heard from in a while to a small donation to the Action Together Toy Appeal, supported by Tameside Radio and this newspaper. It's in the true spirit of Christmas giving.
Please support our great local businesses if you can, but whatever the Autumn statement has brought by the time you read this, don't feel pressured to spend more than you can this festive season. One more thing - can we make cash machines that charge to withdraw our own money illegal? And how about free parking for all town centres during December weekends to encourage us to shop local? Just a thought.
