Five stars for new food hygiene scheme

Councillor Martin Burke

Customers will be better informed when eating out in the borough, thanks to a new Food Hygiene Rating Scheme which tells them about the hygiene standards of food outlets.

The national scheme, developed by the Food Standards Agency in partnership with Rochdale Borough Council, provides clearly visible information on food hygiene standards to help people to choose where to eat out or shop for food.

Outlets, such as restaurants, cafes, takeaways and pubs, are inspected by the council’s food safety officers to check their hygiene standards meet legal requirements.

They will then be rated on a scale ranging from zero (which means urgent improvement necessary) to a top rating of five (very good).

Councillor Martin Burke, Cabinet Member for Environmental Services said: “The public can use the ratings when deciding which outlets to visit, and I hope that food companies will recognise that displaying a good hygiene rating is good for business.

“If customers expect to see a rating there is a real incentive for food businesses to seek to make improvements to their hygiene standards.

“I think everyone will find it useful to know more about the hygiene standards in the food businesses they are visiting.”

Catriona Stewart, Head of the Food Hygiene Ratings Team at the Food Standards Agency said: “Around one million people suffer from food poisoning every year, and our aim in introducing the scheme is to reduce this.

“The ratings will give consumers a glimpse of what is going on in the kitchen when they eat out, before they make their decision about which place they prefer to visit.”

Ratings will be available for anyone to view on the FSA website www.food.gov.uk/ratings and businesses will be given a window sticker and certificate to display.