FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Concorde Room [and GF]- food hygiene now "Very Good"
Old Feb 20, 2014, 2:41 am
  #11  
710 77345
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: London
Posts: 3,500
Yes, this is good news - BA/Baxter Storey were told last week that although there were some small issues, these really were just the sort of tiny things you would see on any inspection and none would stop them getting a 5.

I wouldn't be breaking out the party poppers just yet, as the T1 Domestic, T1 International and T3 lounges were also all inspected. There weren't any large risks to health - they all scored a 4 - but there were common failings that wouldn't come as a surprise to a BA traveller. The temperature of the food wasn't being measured properly, dirt-encrusted implements were being used and there was poor record keeping.

It's fantastic that BA have achieved a 5 for the Concorde Room - but approximately two-thirds of all food establishments at Heathrow (from the fancy Virgin Clubhouse to a coffee stand) also get a 5.

Places with hygiene issues in the bottom third of Heathrow establishments include:
BA's Terminal 5 Arrivals
BA's Terminal 5 Galleries South
BA's Terminal 5 Galleries North
BA's Terminal 5 Galleries B
BA's Terminal 3 Lounge
BA's Terminal 1 International
BA's Terminal 1 Domestic

BA's current scores at a single airport are an inconsistent 2 (still!), 3, 4 and now a 5 too. Would it be too much to ask that the attention paid to the CCR is given to the other lounges (ideally Galleries South, as this is currently a dodgy 2)? Much like our passenger concerns with BA planes, the issues identified are not those of outdated or poor equipment but of poor training and lack of attention by staff.

It's great for Baxter Storey to say "we wish this inspection had been done earlier" and to hope we conclude this chapter is over - but T5 Galleries South was inspected in September, is all of 5 metres away from the Concorde Room kitchen, and scored a 2 - the worst hygiene score in the whole of Heathrow!
T5 Arrivals was inspected in October - and scored a 3.

The issues identified in all the lounges are similar, recurring and simple to fix - pests, hygiene, poor record keeping and poor temperature control. Why this has not been resolved in all the lounges I do not know. I wish Baxter Storey staff spent the effort being frustrated that a re-inspection hadn't happened sooner in working with other lounges to fix their issues.

Last edited by 710 77345; Feb 20, 2014 at 3:21 am
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