Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Every little helps .
Oh yes, "every little helps" goes the slogan of Tesco, or as we say Up North, "where there's muck, there's money". Tesco is the least hygienic of Britain's big four supermarkets, with environmental health inspectors finding more serious problems at its premises than at Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons, according to a league table of checks by local authorities. In a five-star rating system, 5 per cent of Tesco stores scored less than the three-star rating which indicates good compliance with health laws, according to statistics passed to The Independent.
The results provide unwelcome publicity for Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer with a 28 per cent market share, following several allegations of rodent infestations and other breaches of food safety laws at its stores during the past year. However, there were marked differences between retailers with similar customer demographics; while Tesco had five per cent rated zero to two stars, all of Morrisons' premises were rated three stars or more. During the past year, Tesco, which has annual sales of £60bn, has run into trouble with environmental health officers on several occasions:
*Last September, 24 products were past their sell-by date at a Tesco store in Llandudno, including one item 12 days past its expiry date
*Last October magistrates in Cardiff fined Tesco £6,000 for selling a chocolate cake gnawed by rats
*In April, environmental health officers linked three suspected cases of food poisoning to fresh tuna from Tesco in Inverness
*In May, Suffolk Coastal District Council accused Tesco's Martlesham store of being "heavily" infested with mice. Tesco denies eight charges brought by the council in an ongoing case.
*Last month, Tesco had to close its staff canteen at Inverness for a week because of a cockroach infestation.
...So, there you have it, "where there's muck, there's money". Profit before hygiene, every little helps. Companies do not like it when news like this gets into the public domain. Of course you can always check on the Scores on the Doors website to check how your local take-aways, clubs, pubs and restaurants are rated by the official local authority officers in a 5 star rating scheme. I am pleased to see that the hotel I will be staying at tomorrow night in Bradford has been given the maximum 5 star rating for food hygiene. Of course, hygiene is not just a problem in shops, hotels, take-aways, clubs, pubs and restaurants. Some cockroaches like to travel around our country by coach, the Plaxton Panther model of coach has proven to be very popular with these hardy little creatures!
Oh yes, "every little helps" goes the slogan of Tesco, or as we say Up North, "where there's muck, there's money". Tesco is the least hygienic of Britain's big four supermarkets, with environmental health inspectors finding more serious problems at its premises than at Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons, according to a league table of checks by local authorities. In a five-star rating system, 5 per cent of Tesco stores scored less than the three-star rating which indicates good compliance with health laws, according to statistics passed to The Independent.
The results provide unwelcome publicity for Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer with a 28 per cent market share, following several allegations of rodent infestations and other breaches of food safety laws at its stores during the past year. However, there were marked differences between retailers with similar customer demographics; while Tesco had five per cent rated zero to two stars, all of Morrisons' premises were rated three stars or more. During the past year, Tesco, which has annual sales of £60bn, has run into trouble with environmental health officers on several occasions:
*Last September, 24 products were past their sell-by date at a Tesco store in Llandudno, including one item 12 days past its expiry date
*Last October magistrates in Cardiff fined Tesco £6,000 for selling a chocolate cake gnawed by rats
*In April, environmental health officers linked three suspected cases of food poisoning to fresh tuna from Tesco in Inverness
*In May, Suffolk Coastal District Council accused Tesco's Martlesham store of being "heavily" infested with mice. Tesco denies eight charges brought by the council in an ongoing case.
*Last month, Tesco had to close its staff canteen at Inverness for a week because of a cockroach infestation.
...So, there you have it, "where there's muck, there's money". Profit before hygiene, every little helps. Companies do not like it when news like this gets into the public domain. Of course you can always check on the Scores on the Doors website to check how your local take-aways, clubs, pubs and restaurants are rated by the official local authority officers in a 5 star rating scheme. I am pleased to see that the hotel I will be staying at tomorrow night in Bradford has been given the maximum 5 star rating for food hygiene. Of course, hygiene is not just a problem in shops, hotels, take-aways, clubs, pubs and restaurants. Some cockroaches like to travel around our country by coach, the Plaxton Panther model of coach has proven to be very popular with these hardy little creatures!
Comments:
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You're not from the north, are you? If so, you'd not commit the howler in your opening sentence. "Where there's muck there's BRASS" is what you were struggling for!
# posted by 
: 16 September 2009 at 11:30
: 16 September 2009 at 11:30
Congratulations Steve, its good to see that all those many years living down in the civilised South West of the UK has worn away those rough Northern edges (only joking)
John
PS You will not be wanting those mushy peas now.
John
PS You will not be wanting those mushy peas now.
# posted by : 16 September 2009 at 18:26
: 16 September 2009 at 18:26
Anon: Thank you for leaving a comment. I am from Hartlepool in the North East and my family always used the variant of money rather than brass. 'Where there's muck there's brass' is a 20th century expression which originated in Yorkshire, England where brass is still used as a slang term for money. The expression is rarely used nowadays, although writers sometimes call on it when they want to establish a character as a blunt Yorkshireman. The expression was preceded by the 'where there's muck there's money' variant, which dates from the mid 19th century. There was a tv series in the late 60's called "The Informer" Where There's Muck, There's Money. You can buy a Where There's Muck There's Money Mug for £6.91 if you want one.
People of the North have local rivalries as to who lives in the REAL North. I think that anything as far south as Yorkshire and Cheshire qualify. I was born in what was County Durham before numerous local government changes and maybe you are a Yorkshire blogger and still use brass.
John: Many people still think I call a spade a spade and lack tact. Rather than "go all around the houses " like a Wurzel , I simply say "No!"
You can keep your mushy peas, I was never a fan. I do like those Cornish pasties though! Real Ale is great all around the country and I do not have a regional favourite!
People of the North have local rivalries as to who lives in the REAL North. I think that anything as far south as Yorkshire and Cheshire qualify. I was born in what was County Durham before numerous local government changes and maybe you are a Yorkshire blogger and still use brass.
John: Many people still think I call a spade a spade and lack tact. Rather than "go all around the houses " like a Wurzel , I simply say "No!"
You can keep your mushy peas, I was never a fan. I do like those Cornish pasties though! Real Ale is great all around the country and I do not have a regional favourite!
Well Morrisons on Rye Lane in Peckham when I lived there between 2 and 4 yrs ago buying the meat was a no no the fridges were warm and the chicken stank as I made the mistake of buying once when I opened it I realised my suspicions were right n the temperature of the fridge was obv too warm n resulted in rotten meat before expiration of sell by date :( and Asda on old Kent road everything was horrid.. Dented tins and old fruit n veg... Tesco opened a new store in Sheffield recently a mega store has a huge electrical soft furnishing and clothing dept as well as food biggest tesco I have ever seen and when I went in other week half shelves were empty the public toilets were filthy the entrance to store filthy the aisles were all set out backwards making impossible to find anything but was hardly anything to be found cos almost everything on my list lo and behold that section of the shelf was empty.... And a little skinny chicken not organic or anything a tiny boney chicken was for some strange reason £7.50 that size usually £4 and to make sure when I was out next day I called in a Co-op, asda and Waitrose and saw chickens much larger in size priced between £4-5 ... Tesco just gone downhill n overpriced I have gone back to Asda for household essentials and basics and Sometimes sainsburys and Ocado for the items I can't get in those other places that are dietary specific as Ocado has a good range I prefer I do food shopping online now anyway.. Sorry I just waffle on verbal diarreah :/
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