Dine out with confidence (From York Press)

Dine out with confidence

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This week is Food Safety Week and it is very important that allfood businesses obey the law and supply food that is safe to eat.

Consumers in certain areas can already see how well a food business complies with food hygiene regulations through Scores on the Doors schemes run by their local authority.

The primary purpose of the Scores on the Doors scheme is to allow consumers to make informed choices about the places in which they eat out and from which they purchase food, and, through this, to encourage businesses to improve hygiene standards.

Local authority enforcement officers are responsible for inspecting food businesses to ensure that they meet the legal requirements on food hygiene. Under Scores on the Doors schemes, each food outlet is given a hygiene rating or hygiene score that reflects the inspection findings and may display this in their premises where consumers can see it.

Scores are also available via websites where consumers can see the scores for all the businesses in the local area.

At the moment, more than 200 local authorities across the UK have Scores on the Doors schemes in place. This means when you are away from home on holiday or on business finding a restaurant with good hyegiene is just a click away.

The Scores On The Doors initiative was introduced to York by the council last year to reveal the results of inspections of restaurants, pubs, bars, takeaways and canteens across the city for the first time.

Since the online register was set up, more than 100,000 people have scoured it for information on premises in York - including 10,290 in December alone.

It has also been praised by trading standards officers for encouraging businesses to improve their hygiene arrangements.

Many businesses covered by Scores On The Doors have sought tips from the authority's food and safety teams on how they can improve their star rating, which can range from zero - the bottom mark - to a five-star accolade.

More than 1,700 businesses are listed on the register for York and on the following pages you will find some of the restaurants who have achieved the magnificent four or five-star rating for their establishment.

 

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