Episode 1 Rip Off Britain

There's a lot we don't know about the food on our plates.

And the shops and the labels don't always tell you the whole story.

Sometimes there's just too many offers

and when you actually look at them, you're not really saving that much.

Whether you're staying in or going out,

you've told us that you can feel ripped off by the promises

made for what you eat and, indeed, what you pay for it.

If you buy six, it's cheaper.

But I don't want to buy six, I want to buy one.

From claims that don't stack up, to the secrets behind the packaging,

we'll uncover the truth about Britain's food

so you can be sure you're getting what you expect, at the right price.

Your food, your money. This is Rip-Off Britain.

Hello, and welcome to Rip-Off Britain, where, for this

special series, we're looking into all things to do with food.

And while sometimes it can be a bit tricky keeping across everything

when we are eating at home, I think most of us will agree that

things become a lot more complicated

when we're eating out because, of course, that is when we're

putting our trust and confidence into the hands of other people.

And the truth is that some of the places we go to can leave us

feeling really disappointed.

Either because what they're serving

isn't quite what we'd assumed or indeed hoped for,

and we have some surprising examples of that coming up,

or perhaps even because they are struggling with the absolute basics,

in other words, keeping themselves and their surroundings clean

so we're getting food that's safe as well as very tasty.

Yes, because no-one wants to go out for something nice

and come back with a dose of something nasty.

So, today, we're going to be finding out exactly what's being done to

make sure that the standards of hygiene

where we eat are up to scratch.

Coming up... We've done our own test into restaurant cleanliness,

so in which high street favourite

did we find something very nasty indeed?

There's faecal contamination either of the water that made the ice

or the ice itself.

And so it increases the risk of

getting sick from consuming this ice.

And burgers served pink may be all the rage,

but are they safe to eat?

If a burger hasn't been prepared and cooked safely,

then the potential risk is that the inside of the burger

could contain organisms such as E. Coli,

which is potentially extremely

dangerous and has been known to cause death.

Whenever you go into a restaurant or a takeaway, you might have seen

a bright green sticker about so long by so deep,

displayed either on the door or the window, making it very clear

what the food hygiene rating is of the place in which you plan to eat.

In other words, it's a very helpful steer on

whether the standards inside really are up to scratch.

Or at least, it should be.

But, in fact, though you might have assumed otherwise,

restaurants are not obliged to display their rating.

So any place that scored particularly badly

doesn't have to tell you about it.

Even though, chances are, you certainly would want to know.

So, short of actually poking your head into the kitchen,

how can you tell if a restaurant is as clean as a whistle?

Or no such thing.

With stickers to show if you're eating somewhere clean and safe,

the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme was launched

in most of the UK in 2010,

although Scotland already had something similar.

The idea is that any establishment that serves or provides food

to the general public should be inspected

and then given a rating, depending on how clean their premises are.

So, for instance, if you get a five, which is the top rating,

that means that you are very good.

If you get zero, well, that indicates

that your establishment is in need of urgent attention.

But what exactly do these ratings mean?

'Well, someone who knows the answer to that is John Thornhill.

'His restaurant in central London has a rating of five,

'so he must be doing something right.'

So, how much notice did you get before the inspectors arrived?

They don't give you any warning. I think that's absolutely right.

In the end, the only way to try and achieve consistency, or at least to

measure consistency, is to go when people don't necessarily expect it.

'Restaurants are inspected by local authority

'Environmental Health Officers, who are checking for a number of things.

'How hygienically the food is handled -

'in other words, the way it's

'prepared, cooked, reheated, cooled, and stored.

'And they'll look at the condition and structure of the building,

'its cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation, and other facilities.'

What are the extra problems that you've got?

-Because the food looks stunning...

-Thank you.

-..and it's colourful

and it's wonderful, but it is all out on show.

This is tuna, good example, can only be out for 30 minutes,

because obviously, being fish, it will go off quite quickly.

Whereas, if we look at something like ham,

that can be out for a longer period of time.

So, we have a system in the back here which controls every dish,

knows when it was sent up, knows how long it can be out for, and alerts

the staff when we need to send it down,

if everything hasn't been sold at that point.

How proud are you that you got a five rating?

Very proud, because if I was walking past

the window here, seeing this food on display,

I'd think it looked visually very appetising, but I would

want to know that it was going to be equally good in the consumption.

But, unfortunately, not all restaurants are as

thorough as this one.

Our team has uncovered some pretty shocking statistics concerning

food hygiene at establishments the length and breadth of the country.

'At the time we checked, there were...

'That's nearly 9% of all the premises inspected. Worse still...

'..which means they need urgent improvement.

'But finding out a restaurant's

'score isn't always that straightforward.

'I took a walk along a busy street in London's Soho,

'with no less than 34 restaurants.'

But only nine of them are displaying their Food Hygiene Rating,

and that's because, by law,

they don't have to put it in a prominent position.

'In fact, only in Wales would they

'be obliged to display their rating at all.

'So I'm meeting Catriona Stewart,

'who's head of the scheme for the Food Standards Agency,

'to find out why such vitally

'important information is not made obvious to customers.'

Why should it not be made a legal requirement that they put

that rating in a very prominent position,

so that you can see what it is before you go into a restaurant?

Well, actually, in Wales at the moment, it is

already a requirement of law that businesses must

put their ratings sticker - it's a very distinctive green

and black sticker - they must put that in the window.

But not in England.

In England, the FSA, Food Standards Agency, we do favour that,

and what we're doing at the moment is putting together

the evidence to support the case for that,

because it requires new legislation, and we need to be able to show

that it doesn't have an additional burden on food businesses.

We'll be putting that case to the Government,

so that the Government can consider that and make a decision.

So let's hope that it does soon become law that every

food establishment and outlet really has to prominently display

that hygiene rating.

It would give us all a lot more confidence, wouldn't it?

'In the meantime, if you're planning to eat out anywhere in the UK,

'you can check the outlet's rating on the FSA website.

'But amongst those scoring zero in recent inspections are branches

'of some very big names indeed.

'So, later in the programme, we'll be

'seeing whether or not they've since cleaned up their act.

'We did our own hygiene tests, and you'll be shocked by what we found.'

As you know,

when it comes to ordering a steak in a restaurant, choosing how you

want it cooked - well done, medium or rare - is standard practice.

But it's only recently that we started being offered the same

choice with burgers.

The rapid growth of the posh end of the burger market has

coincided with both chefs

and customers demanding more choice in how their meat is cooked.

But that's not as simple as it sounds,

and if you live in Scotland, you might need to take a trip over

the border if your preference is for a burger that's pink in the middle.

'These days, if you fancy a burger, the likes of McDonald's

'and Burger King no longer dominate the market.

'A multitude of premium burger chains have sprung up,

'with the UK burger industry valued at over £3 billion.

'And some customers have become

'so selective about how they like their burger cooked.'

Normally, when I have a burger, I like it quite well done,

but I do like to still have it quite succulent and juicy

and have all the flavours come through, not too dry.

Probably medium rare.

I think too much blood can put you off, maybe,

or put some people off, and then too well done might be a bit dry.

I don't like the blood, and I don't like the pink.

I'd definitely get it well done.

Usually, I like to have it quite rare.

I just think it tastes better, I think it's juicier.

I hate a dry burger.

'But burgers served rare or pink are controversial, and that's

'largely down to the way in which they're made and then cooked.'

So, here we've got a burger and a piece of steak.

Now, people often say, "What's the difference?

"Why can't we cook them both rare?"

And the reason is that, the piece of steak, if we cook it in the pan and

sear it, then that means that we're going to be killing all

the bacteria on the surface, but the inside is relatively clean.

So that means you can actually serve a rare steak,

knowing that you've killed the bacteria on the outside,

and the inside is relatively clean anyway, so that's safe.

But, of course, the burger is actually made up of a minced-up

piece of this meat, which means that all the outside surface has been

mixed up with the inside surface.

So, effectively,

you've got a lump of what I would call unclean meat, so

if you only cook the outside of the burger, the inside may be unsafe.

'Food safety guidelines say that restaurants,

'just like us at home,

'should cook burgers thoroughly to kill any bugs that may be

'present, and that means to temperatures of at least

'70 degrees, for a minimum of two minutes.

'So, when some burger chain started offering their burgers rare,

'food inspectors began to get very nervous.'

If a burger hasn't been prepared and cooked safely,

then the potential risk is that the inside of the burger could

contain organisms such as E. Coli O157, which is potentially

extremely dangerous,

and has been known to cause death, and other awful

things like haemolytic-uraemic syndrome, and can lead to paralysis.

'Some local councils have been

'so concerned about restaurants serving pink burgers, that

'they've issued official notices to try and effectively stop their sale.

'But the restaurants in question fought back.

'For example, Davy's Wine Bar won its case against

'Westminster Council, having

'proved that its supply of meat was safe, and so were its burgers.

'But in December 2015,

'Portsmouth restaurant 6oz Burgers were told that, even though

'there had no allegations of illness, it wasn't allowed to

'serve its burgers pink, a decision that was upheld by the courts.

'The Food Standards Agency has

'since issued further guidance on the matter,

'with advice on the warnings that restaurants should

'put on their menus, and very strict rules on how

'the burger meat is sourced.

'And, although some experts think that this guidance isn't yet enough,

'it's at least an acknowledgement of the growing

'public appetite for this type of burger.

'However, in Scotland, the official position is a little stricter,

'and that's got some food lovers rather hot under the collar.'

I really like burgers, but, in order for it to be good,

it has to be pink.

There's no point in paying over the odds for a burger if

you're going to cremate it, and lose any of the good taste the meat has.

It's got to be nice, juicy, and pink.

'Although Emma McItin from Glasgow has a very clear preference as to

'how she likes her burger cooked,

'Food Standards Scotland considers rare too risky,

'advising instead that the meat is thoroughly cooked,

'so it's hard for Emma to find the type of burger that she likes.

'And, whilst the Scottish authorities say that they're simply

'putting safety first,

'if, like Emma, you're a big fan of a pink gourmet burger,

'living north of the border, you might feel slightly browned off.'

There's a risk associated with all sorts of food,

like raw shellfish, and even things like steak tartare.

Consumers are educated, and we can make that decision ourselves.

Now, it's not technically illegal for Scottish restaurants to

serve burgers the way Emma likes them, and we've heard of some that

do offer them "pink with a wink",

that is - discreetly, at the customer's request.

But if there was ever a food poisoning outbreak,

those restaurants might be in trouble

if they flouted the Scottish Government's guidance.

'So we took Emma on a cross-border burger mission to England,

'and 170 miles from home in Durham,

'she's come to a place that prides itself on its pink burgers.

'Sam has been running this restaurant for four years.

'He's passionate about serving meat pink, and the menu makes it

'very clear that the preference here is for burgers that are

'pinkish, juicy, and dripping.

'Not only is he convinced that his pink burgers taste better,

'he thinks that they are safe as can be.'

Obviously, as a professional in the industry, we deem it

better to eat the burger pink.

We have nothing against someone preferring their meat well done.

It's just all down to personal preference,

and we like to do what the customer wants, ultimately.

-Hi, there, I'm Emma.

-I'm Sam.

'So, to demonstrate what checks he puts in place to cook the pink

'burgers safely, Sam has invited Emma into the kitchen to help him

'serve his tea-time rush of customers.'

So, what controls do you have in place in order to serve

a pink burger?

I guess the first thing that we do ensure is

the quality of the supplier itself, so we use a local butcher,

we always do our own background checks on them.

What sort of checks do you have in place once the meat is

brought inside?

Throughout the day, we will pick random products,

get the temperatures, and record it, and we'll keep track of

the records as well.

Then if there was anything ever to go wrong with anyone,

or if there was something wrong with the product itself,

we'd be able to trace that from it being on a certain plate,

right the way back to the source of the farm.

'As Sam whips up both types of burger for Emma to taste,

'it's clear that he's preaching to the converted.'

So, if you like, we can do a taste test, so if I cut a piece off...

This here being the rare.

-Really juicy, beautiful.

-And then this is your well done.

Even the texture of the beef itself...

It's really chewy, I'm getting no taste at all from it.

Well, consumer choice is one thing,

but food safety officers are concerned that not all

chefs are as scrupulous as Sam, and that the wider trend for rarer

burgers will inevitably lead to more people falling ill.

And you can understand why the authorities might take

a harder line in Scotland.

In 1996, 496 people in Lanarkshire developed E. coli

that was traced back to contaminated stewed beef.

21 people died.

And in 2014, another E. Coli outbreak infected

22 people in Glasgow.

The source this time was traced back to undercooked beef burgers

from a fast food stall at the city's SSE Hydro stadium.

In fact, in Scotland, proportionately,

there have been three times as many

cases of E. Coli poisoning as in the rest of the UK.

When we contacted Food Standards Scotland on this point,

it reiterated that while it does recommend

that burgers are cooked thoroughly...

..this is not a legal requirement,

and there's no ban on the sale of rare burgers in Scotland.

But it did stress that all restaurants are legally

required to ensure that the food they serve is safe,

so anywhere that chooses to serve rare burgers must ensure it has...

It went on to say that when pink burgers aren't available,

it doesn't mean that the quality of the product is inferior,

simply that the business is...

Meanwhile, the Food Standards Agency representing Wales, Northern Ireland

and England told us it had issued new guidance to provide clarity,

in light of the steadily increasing trend for rare burgers.

It said that, while it doesn't have the same

requirement as Scotland, that the

meat should be thoroughly cooked, it's only acceptable for businesses

to serve burgers pink if there are strict procedures in place.

But as there's a greater chance that these burgers will contain

harmful bacteria, compared with thoroughly cooked ones,

it says the risks should be clearly communicated to vulnerable groups,

for example children under five.

And Dr Ackerley's advice for anyone more susceptible to

illness would always be to stick with a well done burger.

People really do not need a dose of food poisoning,

however small it might be.

Some of the other more robust members of society might shake

it off, that isn't to say they will, and you don't know what is

round the corner if you bite into something that is actually unsafe.

For Emma, though, her preference for pink is a risk that she's

prepared to take.

I understand the low risk involved.

Consumers should have that freedom of choice,

and I'll still go out and get that pink burger.

Have you noticed that the words restaurants use to describe

the dishes on their menus have become a whole lot fancier?

What on Earth does it all mean?

And even if we understand those foreign words,

how on Earth do we pronounce them?

Well, Andrew Webb is an award-winning food journalist,

who's spent years studying restaurant menus.

He's as fed up as the rest of us, and he's got his own views

on what some of the most frequently found terms really mean.

First, let's have a look at some of the ridiculous terms chefs

put on their menus to make things sound better,

but you might not know what they mean.

What else can it be fried in?

A piece of chicken, boned out and filled.

Essentially, a posh chicken Kiev.

Spelt J-U-S. It's basically gravy, and not much of it, either.

Simple, in everything but the price.

Yes, and at three times the price.

But it seems there's method, and profit, in this particular madness.

The thing is, restaurants don't just use these terms to sound impressive.

Research has shown that long descriptions and foreign words

on menus actually make diners spend more on food.

Well, what would you be tempted to pay more for - steak and chips,

or locally sourced fork-tender feather blade steak,

and triple cooked chips?

And what could be better, and classier,

than a soupcon of French on the menu?

So let me translate some of the most popular terms.

It's a good one this. It's basically a French pie.

Essentially, a custard slice.

As you and I would know it, a fritter.

Basically, leek and potato soup, often served cold.

The thing is, everything kind of sounds better in French.

How about jambon de York, oeufs sur le plat et pommes frites?

Or, ham, egg and chips to you and me.

My best advice to you, is

if you do see something on a menu you don't understand, just ask.

The days of the snotty waiter are long gone.

Staff are here to make you feel comfortable and at ease.

And if they do help you out, remember to leave a tip.

Earlier in the programme, we looked at the food hygiene ratings

that you should be able to spot on the doors or windows of most

restaurants and takeaways,

and while you might hope that only a handful of places would get

the lowest possible score, which is a zero,

there are more than you would think.

Indeed, the odd branch of some very big names are among them.

'You'd expect any establishment that gets a damning zero hygiene rating

'to do all it can to immediately put things right.

'But to find out for sure,

'we put it to the test.

'Helping us out was medical microbiologist

'Dr Margarita Gomez Escalada, from Leeds Beckett University.

'She's an expert in the bacteria that lurk in restaurants,

'and knows how crucial it is for premises to tackle them.'

The food can be utilised by micro-organisms to grow,

and obviously micro-organisms can potentially cause disease.

What they can cause varies hugely.

It can go from an upset stomach and diarrhoea,

to extreme cases,

the likes of salmonella has been reported to cause death.

All the more reason for anywhere with a low hygiene score to

address their issues right away.

So we carried out some checks of our own at places

which had recently rated zero in their official inspection

to get a snapshot of whether standards had improved.

And we chose branches of some of the best known names in the country,

who you'd imagine might have the resources to raise their game.

So we went to this Costa in Loughborough,

Chicken Cottage in Hampstead,

this Caffe Nero in Bath, the Wimpy in Basildon,

and finally, this KFC in Birmingham.

At each site, we took swabs from up to four of the key publicly

accessible parts of the restaurant.

We also asked for some ice or water in a take-away cup.

And we sent all the samples to be analysed in Dr Gomez Escalada's lab.

We tested tabletops, trays,

self-service areas and the hand plates in the bathroom.

And the reason we tested them is what someone would

be exposed to.

So, once the scientists had finished their tests,

how did each place scrub up?

Well, in our test, the Costa Coffee in Loughborough

and the Wimpy in Basildon got a clean bill of health,

and both have since been officially re-inspected.

The Costa is now rating the maximum five and the Wimpy a four.

This Finchley Road branch of Chicken Cottage also did well in our test.

We sampled the tray, the table and the doorplate.

We found the levels of hygiene at that establishment are acceptable.

But just weeks later, it received another hygiene rating of zero,

following an inspection in March.

The premises are officially classed as high-priority

and will be re-inspected every six months.

The branch of Chicken Cottage told us

that the inspection had taken place

while remedial and emergency works were being carried out.

But that these are now complete.

The restaurant said it looks forward to...

Meanwhile, back with our results, and Caffe Nero

on the High Street in Bath wasn't totally squeaky clean.

One thing that struck me when I was actually transferring

the bacteria onto the plate is that the swabs were actually very dirty.

And if I show you an example, this is the self-service area.

And this is the swab, and if you can see, the swab is actually dirty.

There was no evidence of dangerous bacteria

but there were significant levels of other micro-organisms.

In the self-service area, which is this plate,

that's more than 500 colonies there.

Hard to estimate, actually, there's so many.

None of that should present any risk but Dr Gomez Escalada

wasn't especially impressed.

Because the levels of bacteria are so high,

indicates that the levels of hygiene are not particularly great.

When we put these findings to Caffe Nero, it told us that the

issues that had led to its zero rating were...

By bringing forward a planned refurbishment,

they've already been addressed.

And it pointed out that, since our visit,

the branch has been re-inspected,

and awarded the maximum rating of five.

That leaves just this KFC in Birmingham's Martineau Place.

Our tests on their tabletop, doorplate

and self-service areas all came back clear.

But the cup of ice that staff gave us was a different story.

Our tests turned up what scientists call "faecal coliforms".

The kind of bacteria, which, I'm afraid, are found in faeces.

We found high levels of bacteria in the ice sample we got.

The presence of faecal coliforms

suggests that there's faecal contamination.

And so it increases the risk

of getting sick from consuming this ice.

When we spoke to KFC,

it told us that a re-inspection after our testing

re-rated the restaurant with...

And a further inspection after this report first went out,

again gave the restaurant the top score.

KFC went on to say it takes...

With 97% of its restaurants scoring four or above,

but even one with a zero rating...

..so it worked with a specialist third-party consultant to get

standards back up.

As for our findings, it said while pleased to see from the

tests that the restaurant was very clean, it was...

It then undertook an urgent retraining programme on standards for...

KFC went on to say that it's right behind the food hygiene rating scheme,

which, it says, the public can trust.

We also contacted the Food Standards Agency,

which confirmed that businesses given ratings of zero or one

must make urgent or major improvements,

and if it's considered that there's an

imminent risk to health, part or all of the business may be closed down.

But if you're eating out and aren't sure if a place is up to scratch,

well, perhaps it's safest to simply use your eyes and your nose.

If it doesn't look good, then really,

do they actually care about their customers?

What's it like behind the scenes?

Go in the toilets, see what it looks like in there.

If they can't get that right,

I'm sure they won't have got the kitchen right.

Well, that's almost it from us for today,

but, I don't know about you guys,

but I have to say I was absolutely shocked to see

just quite how many restaurants

-and cafes scored that zero rating for cleanliness and hygiene.

-Scary.

It is, isn't it? And you know,

while of course you can probably see why they're not going to want

to be shouting that result from the rooftops, it's certainly

information that I would want to know before venturing inside.

I agree with you, Angela, it does seem ridiculous that

such vital information doesn't have to be more clearly displayed.

But whether it's the quality of the establishment,

or the quality of what you're actually eating, let us know

if things don't pass the muster the next time you eat out.

And it could be your story we'll be looking at on future programmes.

But in the meantime, thanks for joining us today

and, wherever you're having your next meal,

we hope it's a good one, a safe one, and a clean one.

-True.

-So, from all of us, goodbye.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.