Scores on the doors – look before you book
The Food Standards Agency’s public attitudes tracker now measures awareness of food hygiene rating schemes and concluded that food hygiene when eating out is what concerns people most about food safety.
The tracker is used to gauge people’s opinions on a range of food-related topics. This year, given the recent rollout of hygiene rating schemes in eateries across the UK, three questions have been added to monitor people’s awareness of the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (used in England, Wales and Northern Ireland) and the Food Hygiene Information Scheme (used in Scotland).
The tracker found that 19% of respondents had seen or heard about initiatives or schemes concerning hygiene standards. When prompted, 21% of respondents said that they had seen or heard about the ‘Food Hygiene Rating scheme’ and 10% had seen or heard about the ‘Food Hygiene Information Scheme’.
The schemes help consumers choose where to eat out or shop for food by giving them information about the hygiene standards in restaurants, cafés, takeaways, hotels and food shops. In February, a campaign will be rolled out across Wales to increase awareness of the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. It will be using a range of channels to get the message out and encourage people to look for stickers and check out ratings on the website.
Please get in touch if you would like a copy of our Scores on the Doors Handbook or any of our other free food safety resources to help you achieve a top hygiene rating on your next EHO inspection.
Any guidance given in our articles is not official and Safer Food Scores can take no responsibility if the information is used to form part of any legal or regulatory compliance for your business. However, please do get in touch if you are interested in our support services and would like to benefit from official guidance relating to your particular circumstances, email [javascript protected email address]
