Scores on the Doors for food hygiene standards

From June, if you’re eating out in North Norfolk you can see at a glance how hygienic your chosen venue is.

North Norfolk District Council has joined 200 other UK councils in running a Scores on the Doors scheme, which gives food businesses a rating out of five stars for their standard of hygiene — and a sticker they can put in their windows to show it.

Some 700 businesses that prepare and sell food in North Norfolk have been given a rating during their normal hygiene inspections by environmental health officers in the last two years. These businesses are about to be informed of their ratings and have a chance to query them if they don’t agree, or have made significant improvements since they were last inspected.

The aim of the scheme is to drive up standards, as is happening elsewhere in the country and across Norfolk, in what is already a high-quality industry sector in North Norfolk.

NNDC Commercial Team Leader Alan Dixon explained: “North Norfolk is deservedly well-known for its food, especially the quality of its local produce and its cooking. This star rating scheme will give businesses a way of proving how dedicated they are to their customers, and it will give some outlets an incentive to try a bit harder. Either way, it’s good for business. It will also reinforce North Norfolk’s great reputation as a place to visit, by showing how well we compare with other parts of the country.”

Mr Dixon continued: “The public can get information about businesses’ food hygiene standards by using the Freedom of Information Act, but that’s not exactly user-friendly. This is a way of giving customers a quick reference, so they can have confidence when they’re choosing where to eat.”

The scheme, which adheres to Food Standards Agency guidelines, is due to be launched on 8 June. The FSA is currently developing a unified Scores on the Doors scheme (there are currently some differences between rating mechanisms across the country) and NNDC will transfer to that new rating system when details are finalised.

Ratings for businesses, including those that don’t serve food directly to the general public, like schools and care homes, will be viewable on the national website www.scoresonthedoors.org.uk and via NNDC’s website, www.northnorfolk.org. The ratings will be updated after every scheduled hygiene inspection, and businesses can reply or appeal if they don’t think their rating is fair.

Star ratings are awarded based on three criteria:

• food hygiene and safety
• structure and cleaning
• confidence in management.

The rating will be given at the time of a routine inspection, but a business can apply for a re-scoring at least three months after they have made any improvements necessary (the three months allows time to ensure those improvements are not merely temporary).

ENDS