With Christmas fast approaching, plans are being made for the festive period. If you’re organising a gathering with family, friends or work colleagues at a local restaurant, pub or hotel, don’t just check out the menu, check out the food hygiene rating as well.
Good food hygiene is getting easier to spot these days with the recent introduction of the National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, which was introduced by Flintshire County Council in December 2010. Restaurants, pubs, hotels, (as well as cafes, takeaways and other places that sell or serve food) are now being rated from 0 – 5 on their hygiene standards when a food hygiene inspection is carried out by Flintshire County Council.
It’s easy to check out the ratings by looking them up online at: food.gov.uk/ratings. Christmas party goers can also look out for the distinctive green and black stickers that businesses are encouraged to display at their outlets to tell their customers the rating they were given.
Ian Vaughan-Evans, Interim Public Protection Manager for Flintshire County Council said:
“When dining out, you’ll choose to go to a place where you like the food and you know you’ll have a good time. It makes sense to look before you book and check out the food hygiene rating as well.”
Recent research by the Agency has shown that nearly 17 million people suffer from stomach upsets in the UK every year and many more instances go unreported. Nobody wants to have their Christmas festivities ruined and as far as food hygiene ratings go there is safety in numbers – so it’s good to know.
