One of Swansea's most well-loved wedding venues, which also serves as a hotel and traditional country pub, has been handed a 'one' food hygiene rating at its latest inspection.
Food safety officers, working on behalf of Swansea Council and the Food Standards Agency, visited The King Arthur Hotel in Reynoldston, Gower, on February 9, 2022 - and their findings have now been published on the official food hygiene ratings website. For more stories about food and drink matters, go here.
In response, a spokesperson for the King Arthur said they were 'shocked and devastated' by the rating and had since dealt with all the areas of concern and were awaiting a re-inspection.
For the category, 'hygienic food handling', food safety officers (also known as food hygiene inspectors) found 'improvement necessary', whilst in the category, 'management of food safety', inspectors reported 'major improvement necessary'. The venue received a "generally satisfactory" standard for "cleanliness and condition of facilities and building".
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As well as reporting on the standards found in different categories, food safety officers also issued an overall score on a scale of zero to five. Zero is the lowest score available and five is the highest. The officers gave the King Arthur Hotel a rating of one - this means 'major improvement necessary'. You can get more pub, restaurant, and other story updates by subscribing to our newsletters here.
What did the food hygiene report for The King Arthur Hotel say?
At the time of their inspection, food safety officers found 'improvement necessary' for the hygienic handling of food including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage. They found that standards were 'generally satisfactory' for the cleanliness and condition of facilities and building, including having an appropriate layout, ventilation, handwashing facilities and pest control, to enable good food hygiene.
Food safety officers also reported 'major improvement necessary' for the system or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served was safe to eat, evidence that staff knew about food safety, and that the food safety officer had confidence that standards would be maintained in future.
What did the The King Arthur Hotel say following the inspection?
Management at The King Arthur Hotel said: "We are shocked and devastated by the poor rating received last month by the EHO. The areas of concern raised in the inspection have been rectified and we are waiting for the EHO to return for their follow up visit. We are confident the council will be more than satisfied with the improvements made.
"The last two years have been a very difficult time for our industry. We have tried to get through it but high levels of staff shortages and difficulty recruiting have made it extremely challenging. Unfortunately this has resulted in some of our management system and training not being kept up to date, hence the poor score.
"We can reassure our customers that everything is now being managed to a high standard. Food safety will be our top priority. We will be applying for a re-score as soon as we are able to. Unfortunately, the way this is managed means it could be three months before a re-inspection takes place. We are confident that when it does, we will regain our high score."
Previous food hygiene ratings at the King Arthur Hotel
According to OMG Food Hygiene, a website that lists the food hygiene information shared on the government website and extra information about each business, at the King Arthur Hotel's previous food hygiene inspection, on February 21, 2020, it received a rating of five, meaning "very good".
However, at its inspection before that, the venue was given a food hygiene rating of two, meaning 'improvement necessary'. The full rating history for the last six years, as shared on OMG Food Hygiene, is as follows:
February 9, 2022: One (major improvement necessary), February 21, 2020: Five (very good), November 14, 2019: Two (improvement necessary), April 19, 2018: Four (good), December 13, 2017: One (major improvement necessary), May 6, 2016: Three (generally satisfactory)
What do food hygiene inspectors look for?
Food hygiene inspectors from local city and county councils work on behalf of the Food Standards Agency and regularly visit all the eateries and vendors selling food in their city, district or county and check that each business is complying with food laws and producing product that are safe to eat.
They pay particular attention to each business's hygienic food handling, including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage, and the business's cleanliness and condition of facilities and building, including having appropriate layout, ventilation, hand-washing facilities and pest control to enable good food hygiene
They also investigate and report on the business's management of food safety, system or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat - the evidence that staff know about food safety, and whether the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future.
A food hygiene rating of five means food standards at the premises are 'very good', four means 'good', three means 'generally satisfactory', two means 'some improvement is necessary', one means 'major improvement necessary', and zero means 'urgent improvement necessary'.
You can see all the food hygiene ratings from the Food Standards Agency here, just search for 'Swansea' to see the ratings for Swansea businesses. Alternatively, simply type in your postcode in the box below to see the latest food hygiene ratings for businesses near you:
