Launch of ‘Food Hygiene Rating Scheme’ or ‘Scores on Doors’
The Food Standards Agency is due to launch the national Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) this autumn. The scheme will apply to establishments supplying food direct to consumers. This includes restaurants, cafes, takeaways, sandwich shops and other places in which people eat food prepared outside of the home, as well as food retailers. The aim is to provide information on hygiene standards to consumers in circumstances where they are making a choice about eating or purchasing food. Exemptions apply to certain businesses (eg ‘low risk’ establishments, those where food is not main activity, private establishments.)
All local authorities in Wales are rolling the scheme out from 1 October 2010 and ‘early adopter’ local authorities are planning to launch the scheme in the South West, East and South East regions imminently.
Name and branding for scheme
Ratings will be shown on a simple numeric scale 1-5. Details of this branding may be seen here.
The following elements of the 'food hygiene intervention rating scheme' at Annex 5 of the Food Law Code of Practice are relevant to calculating the 'score on the door':
- level of (current) compliance with food hygiene and safety procedures (including food handling practices and procedures, and temperature control),
- level of (current) compliance with structural requirements (including cleanliness, layout, condition of structure, lighting, ventilation, facilities etc.), and
- confidence in management/control procedures.
Each element is numerically scored against the relevant criteria on the basis of guidance given in the Code.
Seven draft guidance documents have been published to assist consistency and any appeals and these may be accessed here.
Hygiene ratings will be provided online, including an online consumer search facility that will allow consumers to search for hygiene ratings of businesses in areas where the scheme is run.
