In my multiple visit to England, I noticed that the UK has something unique which is the Food hygiene Rating Scheme. It is designed to allow consumers to make informed choices about where they eat out or shop for food. It does this by giving them information about the hygiene standards in food outlets at the time they are inspected to check compliance with legal requirements. A good rating is a good advert for a business.
How does the rating scheme work?
Each food business is given a risk rating when it is inspected by a Food Safety Officer to check for compliance with food hygiene legislation.
At the inspection, the officer will check:
- How hygienically the food is handled – how it is prepared, cooked, re-heated, cooled and stored.
- The condition of the structure and equipment– the cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities.
- How the business manages and records what it does to make sure food is safe.
The risk rating is then used to provide one of six possible hygiene ratings for the business. At the bottom of the scale is ‘0’ – this means urgent improvement is required. At the top of the scale is ‘5’ – this means the hygiene standards are very good. The officer will explain to the person who owns or manages the business what improvements need to be made and what action they can take to improve their hygiene rating.
- 5 = very good
- 4 = good
- 3 = generally satisfactory
- 2 = improvement necessary
- 1 = major improvement necessary
- 0 = urgent improvement necessary
This picture is from a stall in Norwich Market which got 5. I liked the food there So in my 15-day stay, Every day I went there to buy a Sandwich and a coke.
I don’t know how other countries do, but from the 8 countries I visited, none is doing this.