New Food Safety Ratings

Pubs, shops and restaurants across the country are being given new food hygiene standard ratings in a bid to reduce the one million cases of food poisoning each year and give consumers the knowledge and confidence to know they are eating properly prepared foods.

The scheme for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, backed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and local authorities, aims to grade every premise that sells or serves food.

Nursing homes, schools and hospitals are being included alongside conventional food outlets. Consumers will be able to check an establishment’s hygiene rating before they enter the door.

Participating food outlets will display a bright green and black sticker at the entrance showing a rating from zero, meaning urgent improvement necessary, to five, meaning very good. The ratings will also be posted on the FSA’s website.

Food safety inspectors in Carnforth, Lancashire have already noticed a big difference, with the scores creating a level of competition on the high street. Many premesis are asking the inspectors to return and rescore in hope of an improvement.

A survey, carried out for the FSA, found that at least a fifth of people had sent food back in restaurants for hygiene-related reasons, with 29% having been served undercooked meat.

However, the new scheme is not compulsory and food outlets do not have to display their hygiene rating.

The food director for the British Retail Consortium commented on the scheme: “The information is already available to consumers if they are interested in how people are being inspected.

“We think that at a time when resources are very tight for local authorities, money is best spent targeting the worst performing businesses and making sure they don’t stay in business.”