If an inspector lacks confidence in the management of premises and that premises also has food handling practices that present a risk of food being contaminated with certain more serious types of food poisoning bacteria the premises may receive an additional rating.

An additional score of 20 (in addition to the vulnerable groups score) should be included where there is a significant risk :-

• of food being contaminated with Clostridium botulinum and the microorganism surviving any processing and multiplying;
• of ready-to-eat food being or becoming contaminated with microorganisms or their toxins that are pathogenic to humans, e.g. E. coli O157 or other VTEC, Salmonella sp.; Bacillus cereus;.

In this context, significant risk means the probability that an incident is more likely to occur than not. The following matters should be considered when assessing this factor: -

• The potential for contamination or cross contamination by the specified micro-organisms;
• The likelihood of survival and growth of the specified micro-organisms;
• The existence of hazard analysis or HACCP systems and confidence in their implementation including documentation and records of monitoring of controls;
• The extent and relevance of training undertaken by managers, supervisors and food handlers
• Whether intervention by the Food Authority is necessary to reduce the probability of an incident occurring

Guidance on the Scoring System: