Food hygiene ratings for Suffolk Coastal now available
online
Hygiene ratings for food businesses in Suffolk Coastal can now
be found on the Food Standard Agency's website
www.food.gov.uk/ratings allowing everyone to
see the hygiene ratings of over 1,100 businesses in the
district selling food to the public.
What is the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS)?
FHRS is a national scheme run in partnership with the Food
Standards Agency (FSA). The scheme provides consumers with
information about hygiene standards in food premises at the time
they are inspected by local authority food safety officers to check
compliance with legal requirements - the food hygiene rating given
reflects the inspection findings.
You can search the ratings for food businesses provided by local
authorities participating in FHRS in England, Northern Ireland and
Wales or the Food Hygiene Information Scheme in Scotland.
A short video produced by the Food Standards Agency explaining
the national FHRS can be found on YouTube:
The objectives of the scheme are:
For businesses:
- The scheme will be a good advertisement for businesses that
comply with food hygiene law - good food hygiene rating is good for
business.
- It's already a legal requirement for businesses to meet hygiene
regulations.
- Having the six different ratings gives businesses room to
improve.
For consumers:
- The scheme will enable you to make an informed choice about
where you choose to eat out or shop for food, as it gives you an
idea of what's going on in the kitchen, or behind closed
doors.
- You can view the rating of the place where you choose to eat or
shop by checking the sticker in the window, the certificate on
display inside the premises or by going to the Food Standard
Agency's website www.food.gov.uk/ratings.
How are the ratings worked out?
After a premises has been inspected an overall number rating,
from zero (the worst) to five (the best) is awarded, based on food
hygiene standards found at the time of inspection in the following
three areas:
- Compliance with food hygiene and safety procedures - - for
example, how hygienically the food is handled - how it is prepared,
cooked, re-heated, cooled and stored.
- Compliance with structural requirements - for example, the
condition of the structure of the buildings - the cleanliness,
layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities.
- Confidence in food safety management control/procedures - for
example, how the business manages and records what it does to make
sure food is safe.
A business can be given one of these hygiene ratings:
The rating does not reflect the quality of food or the standard
of service provided to customers.
Some low risk businesses which are not generally recognised by
consumers as being food businesses are 'exempt' from the scope of
the FHRS. Certain establishments operating from private addresses,
childminders for example, are exempt and their details will not be
published.
We have produced an information sheet for food businesses which
gives more details about the scheme and answers some of the
questions we have been asked:
Safeguards for food businesses
In order to ensure that the scheme is fair to businesses, it has
been designed to include a number of safeguards. These are an
appeals procedure, a ‘right to reply’, and an opportunity to
request a re-visit when improvements have been made in order to be
reassessed for a new rating. Information for food businesses about
these different safeguards is provided in the documents below.
Further information on safeguards for businesses can be found in
the FSA's leaflet below:
Appeals, right to reply and re-visit request forms
Further information
For further information about FHRS please contact the Food and
Safety Team on 01394 444357 or email
foodsafetyteam@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk.
Food and Safety Team
Suffolk Coastal District Council
Melton Hill
Woodbridge IP12 1AU.
Tel: 01394 444357.
Fax: 01394 444359.