SCORES of bars, restaurants, pubs, shops and school kitchens have gone years without food hygiene inspections for more than the recommended three-year time period, we can reveal.

At the time of writing, 167 venues across Gwent had been waiting more than three years for inspections up until the end of March.

Local authorities are tasked with inspecting premises every three years by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

High risk outlets should be seen every six months, according to national guidelines.

The majority of establishments in Gwent are deemed low risk, and have favourable food hygiene ratings at the higher end of the 0-5 scale.

But 23 establishments in the region which received a three rating in their last inspections - or generally satisfactory - had not been inspected since.

Backlogs stretch as far back as 2011 in some cases.

Several premises have been inspected in the weeks since the Argus started to look at the situation.

These included a pub which had been sitting on a two rating - meaning improvement is necessary - for more than three years.

Torfaen has the highest number of outstanding cases, with 91 premises across the county not undergoing inspections for more than three years.

Of these, 28 have been waiting for more than four years.

The county also has the highest number of venues which have a rating of three but have not been inspected for more than three years - at 19.

Gwyneira Clark, speaking as the executive member for housing, planning and public for Torfaen council at the time, admitted the local authority is struggling with limited resources.

She said: “Cuts to our budgets for this work means we are managing with increasingly limited resources and our environmental health team must balance these resources against competing priorities, such as dealing with infectious disease incidents, food poisoning outbreaks and other major investigations that must be undertaken.

“As a result we have made some tough decisions on what we do and where we visit.”

In Newport, 41 premises have been waiting for more than three years but a council spokeswoman said that all of the establishments fell between D and E on the FSA’s Food Law Code of Practice scale.

The secondary ratings system, using the letters A to E, relates to the risk a premises presents to the public in relation to its number of customers and food turnover.

Due to this, restaurants typically fall between A to C on the risk scale, regardless of their 0-5 food hygiene rating, and are inspected more regularly.

The Newport council spokeswoman added: “The council does not routinely visit D and E premises unless there is a complaint from the public.”

Monmouthshire has nine premises which have not inspected for three years, but all of them are also deemed as “low risk”.

According to Gillian Dicken, the council’s principal environmental health officer, the local authority has inspected all 363 of its high risk food businesses within their respective inspections cycles.

She added: “The authority does not have a backlog of inspection.

“We are on course to achieve our inspection target again this year.”

There were a further 15 cases in Blaenau Gwent, and 11 in Caerphilly, with one case stretching back to 2012.

But a Blaenau Gwent council spokeswoman said its were “low risk” and within the inspection cycle, while a Caerphilly County Borough Council spokesman said several of its highlighted premises had ceased trading.

He added: “In order to protect public health, the council targets it’s resources to carry out inspections at high risk businesses.”

A Food Standards Agency (FSA) spokesman said: “Local authorities may carry out checks other than inspections for businesses which present a lower risk for food safety.

“This might be based on the type of food business and the standards of hygiene achieved at the last food hygiene rating inspection.

“The inspection date may therefore not necessarily reflect the most recent interaction between the business and the local authority.

“For example, the local authority may carry out a monitoring visit to confirm that standards are being maintained but not undertake an inspection, partial inspection or audit, which would be necessary to update the Food Hygiene Rating.

“It is important for consumer protection that local authorities follow the FSA’s Food Law Code of Practice, which sets out the type and frequency of food hygiene interventions.

“This is a statutory code which directs local authorities in delivering the enforcement of food law.”