New way to feed app-etite for information on food standards

Anyone wanting help with choosing where to eat out or shop for food will now find it easier than ever to check out information about food hygiene standards on a mobile phone.

Food hygiene rating information is available as an app on iPhones and android smart phones and can be downloaded free from i-Tunes or from the googleplay store by searching for ‘food hygiene’.

The app allows people to use their phone’s camera to point at a food premises and find the score instantly, or to search nearby restaurants from their current location.  

Ratings can also be found online at shropshire.gov.uk/foodhygienescheme

Shropshire Council’s food safety team has awarded food hygiene ratings to more than 1,900 premises since the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme was launched in the county, meaning all the premises of the highest food safety risk have now been inspected.

The team has been rating premises as part of the scheme since June 2010, and was one of the first in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to work in partnership with the Food Standards Agency to provide this consistent approach.

Restaurants, pubs, cafes, takeaways, hotels and other places to eat out are included in the scheme, in addition to retail outlets such as supermarkets and other food shops.

Each business is given a hygiene rating when it is inspected by a food safety officer.  The rating shows how closely the business is meeting the requirements of food hygiene law, including:

• how hygienically the food is handled – how it is prepared, cooked, reheated, cooled and stored
• the condition of the structure of the buildings – the cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities
• how the business manages and records what it does to make sure food is safe.

At the end of the inspection the business is given one of six ratings, from zero to five.  When a business does not achieve the top rating, the food safety officer will explain to the owner or manager what improvements are needed and how they can achieve this.  The officer will also check that these improvements have been made.

Premises are given stickers and certificates showing their hygiene rating, which they are encouraged to display in a place where customers can easily see them. 

Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for public protection, said:

“We have rated almost 2,000 premises since the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme was launched in the county as part of work to protect consumers and drive up standards in the food industry.  The scheme rewards those businesses that are achieving high standards, and also helps to raise standards in those that need to improve.

“The free mobile phone app from the Food Standards Agency gives people another way to check the ratings of food businesses, making it as convenient as possible to find this information.

“I would urge people to always check the rating in advance, or look out for the distinctive green and black food hygiene rating stickers and certificates when visiting premises.  If these aren’t on display, we would also encourage people to ask businesses if they have been rated and what score they achieved.”

The highest food hygiene rating is five (very good), followed by four (good), three (satisfactory), two (improvement necessary), one (major improvement necessary), and zero (urgent improvement necessary).  Any business should be able to reach the top rating.

More information on the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is also available by going to shropshire.gov.uk/foodhygienescheme, the Shropshire Food Safety Facebook page , or by calling the food safety team on 0345 678 9000.