A Douglas café which previously received a low food hygiene score has raised concerns over a lack of communication surrounding the island’s alleged adoption of a UK-style ratings system.

Café Noa at the Market Hall said it has now officially been given the top hygiene rating after being reinspected last week.

The business was one of 11 food businesses across the island to be given a score of ‘1’, meaning ‘major improvement necessary’, in routine inspections carried out by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) between July 2024 and May 2025.

The data, released under a Freedom of Information (FoI) request, has sparked reaction from some of the named businesses, including Noa, which said that the issues flagged were administrative and that all recommendations were actioned immediately.

In a statement posted to social media last week, a spokesperson for Noa said: ‘The reality is, after more than 12 years in business without a single inspection, we became complacent in some admin areas, specifically with our labelling and record-keeping.

‘While all our food was labelled, we were advised that more detail was needed.

‘We were also told that although our kitchen was clean and safe to work in, we needed to improve how we document our daily cleaning and temperature checks.’

On Sunday, the café confirmed it had been re-inspected and awarded a top-tier five-star rating in a fresh statement.

However, the business also questioned the manner in which the scoring system has been introduced.

‘Although Tynwald previously voted against adopting a five-star system, DEFA recently moved toward a more UK-style audit approach, without formally communicating that shift to businesses,’ the Market Hill business said.

‘To clarify: it was never DEFA’s intention to publish these “star ratings.”

‘Their goal was to use them privately with the businesses audited as aspirational targets... But when those scores showed up in a Freedom of Information response, it caused confusion we all weren’t prepared for. We didn’t even know we were being assessed that way!’

The list of businesses issued with a score of 1 also includes Union Mills Football Club, Café Delight in Douglas, Chengdu Impression in Douglas, and Time Out Noodle Bar in Castletown, among others.

In response to the FoI, DEFA confirmed that in all cases informal action and written advice were issued, but no enforcement action was taken.

Plans to formally introduce a food hygiene rating scheme in the Isle of Man were shelved earlier this year, with Environment Minister Clare Barber telling Tynwald that the scheme would not proceed due to a lack of staffing resources.

Mrs Barber said just one full-time equivalent inspector was available to carry out routine visits and that a credible scheme would require five trained officers.

She added that recruiting and training new inspectors could take at least two years.

In its update, Café Noa said it would be following up with DEFA and its MHKs, saying: ‘We think there’s a better way to roll this out and we’d love to be part of making it work for everyone.’

DEFA has been approached to comment.