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Warwick District Council has switched to a new way of displaying the hygiene standards of food businesses to consumers.
Food outlets, such as restaurants, takeaways and pubs, are inspected by food safety officers from Warwick District Council, to check that their hygiene standards meet legal requirements. The hygiene standards found at these inspections are rated on a scale ranging from zero at the bottom (which means ‘urgent improvement necessary’) to a top rating of five (‘very good’).
This national scheme, developed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in partnership with local authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, provides information on food hygiene standards to help people to choose where to eat out or shop for food. The new scheme replaces the local Hygiene Rating scheme that we had previously run.
These ratings are available for anyone to view on the FSA website at food.gov.uk/ratings and the food business will be given a sticker and certificate and expected to display these at the entrance to their premises. This is so that their customers can easily see them and decide if they want to go in.
Around one million people suffer from food poisoning every year, and the FSA’s aim in developing the FHRS is to reduce this number. The ratings will give consumers a glimpse of what is going on in the kitchen when they eat out, or behind the scenes at the places they shop, before they make their decision about which place they prefer to visit.
Councillor Michael Coker, Portfolio Holder for Food Safety, said: "Although we have run our own successful food hygiene scheme, we have opted to change to the FHRS, as we can see the benefits for local food businesses and the people that eat or shop in them. A single scheme which is consistent nationwide means the rating will have the same significance wherever people are buying food. The public will be able to use the information when deciding which food outlets to visit, and we hope that food companies will recognise that displaying a good hygiene rating is good for business."
Food premises across Warwick District will now have been issued with their new certificate and window sticker to display their rating to customers.
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