Food hygiene rating scheme launched this week by FSA
This week the Food Standards Agency (FSA) launched their national food hygiene rating scheme nationwide. Finally, there’s no need to be concerned about the standard of food from that dodgy burger van in town, your local Chinese takeaway or that grotty-looking greasy cafe in your village! Instead, you’ll be able to see the ‘scores on the doors’ for all food establishments, from shopping centers to high street pubs and restaurants.
The FSA, in partnership with local authorities, will assign stickers to restaurants, takeaways, cafes and supermarket for display on their shop front. The stickers are bright green and black, and show a rating of 0 – 5 in the new national food hygiene rating scheme.
Early adopters of the food hygiene rating scheme published their ratings on line at food.gov.uk/ratings earlier this year. The outstanding authorities are expected to join and post their scores over the coming months.
How it works: 
After an inspection by the local council’s food safety officers, food establishments will receive their stickers for display, which will tell visiting consumers if the inspection found that ‘urgent improvement’ is necessary or if standards are ‘very good’.
The stickers feature five circled numbers, with that particular establishment’s rating clearly highlighted (see picture: right).
Food safety officers will check how hygienically food is handled, how it is prepared, cooked, re-heated, cooled and stored. They’ll also look at the condition of the building, its facilities and how it manages food safety (for example, fridge temperatures and staff training).
The aim of this exercise, according to the FSA, is to cut reported one million food poisoning cases, which are reported every year.
The food hygiene rating system will help to reduce food poisoning cases by letting potential customers view establishments’ rating. This should encourage owners to be more vigilant with their food hygiene practices and allow people the opportunity to reward highly rated establishments with their custom.
The roll out of this scheme replaces the many ‘local’ schemes many authorities operated across the UK, as many of the grading schemes were inconsistent (different methods and symbols). The new scheme will help to avoid confusion and provide clarity and consistency for customers.
A high proportion of surveyed members of the public (86%) believe that food hygiene standards are very important when they’re eating out.
In addition, 23% of people indicated that they’ve sent back undercooked poultry when eating out.
Tags: Food Hygiene, Food Safety, food standards agency, FSA