As part of this week’s National Food Safety week (4-10 June), Hambleton residents are being urged to think about the safety of the food they buy and eat.
District council Environmental Health Officers are supporting the Food Standard Agency campaign ‘the people who protect your plate’ to shine a light on food safety and help ensure that the food consumers buy and eat is safe and honest.
“As a nation we spent over £203 billion on food and drink last year alone, but the safety of our food is often something we take for granted,” said Councillor Stephen Watson, portfolio holder for Environmental Health.
“We have a dedicated team of environmental health officers whose job is to inspect local businesses across Hambleton to ensure hygiene standards are up to scratch. Research shows that food hygiene when eating out is the UK’s number one food safety concern so we are really pleased that the majority of our local food businesses hold a rating of 3 or above.”
The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme helps people choose where to shop for food and where to eat out by giving them clear information about the businesses’ hygiene standards. It covers businesses supplying or serving food direct to consumers such as restaurants, pubs, cafés, takeaways, food vans or stalls, canteens, hotels, supermarkets, schools, hospitals and care homes.
There are six hygiene ratings ranging from ‘0’ (urgent improvement required) at the bottom to ‘5’ (very good) at the top. Businesses are given green and black stickers for display at their premises and all ratings are published online, so people can make more informed choices about where to buy and eat food. Hambleton currently has 890 premises in the scheme with 482 scoring a 5 and only 15 scoring less than a 2.
For more information on the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme visit food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/food-hygiene-rating-scheme