Food businesses hit with hygiene grades
Two restaurants and one grocery store have been put on notice that they must take immediate action to improve hygiene and food safety or risk closure.
The restaurants were named in the Ministry of Health’s latest grading of food service establishments.
More than half of the island’s food establishments have been given a top grade in the tabulation but three were issued with the lowest grade of D.
They were the Lobster Pot Restaurant and Bar on Bermudiana Road, Hamilton; North Rock, on South Road in Smith’s; and The English Market on Church Street, Hamilton — which has moved to a new premises since the results were tabulated.
A fourth establishment initially received a mistaken D grade in what the ministry subsequently called “an administrative error”, prompting an apology. The restaurant in question in fact holds a B rating.
A grade of D, below 70 points, usually indicates “urgent action or consideration of closure”. According to the government site, “some critical violations must be corrected immediately to remove an imminent risk to health”.
On the list of 319 “restaurants, cafés, bars, grocery stores and other food businesses”, officials ranked establishments based on hygiene, food handling practices, temperature control, structural conditions and overall risk management.
The assessment of compliance with food safety standards gave 176 A grades, 126 B grades and 13 C’s. The grades cover businesses licensed from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026.
The rankings, which have come out most years since 2017, use unannounced annual inspections.
Environmental health officials tally up scores on a 100-point scale based on factors from temperature control of food to personal hygiene, staff protective clothing and vermin control.
An A is awarded for 90 to 100 points, while B equates to 80 to 89 points and C denotes 70 to 79 points.
• To see the Food Establishment Licence Grades as of January 2026, according to the Government’s website, see Related Media
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