The scheme, which launched at Belfast’s Café Vaudeville to mark the start of Food Safety Week in Northern Ireland, rates the food hygiene standards of more than 11,000 local businesses where people can eat or buy food, from cafes and restaurants to supermarkets and delis.
The FHRS is operated by the Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland in partnership with 17 district councils throughout the region. Under the scheme, food businesses are rated on a scale of zero to five, with zero meaning ‘urgent improvement necessary’ and the top rating of five representing a ‘very good’ standard of food hygiene.
The FHRS uses information from routine food hygiene inspection programmes carried out by council environmental health staff. It’s being rolled out by participating councils and the Food Standards Agency as part of a transparent approach to food hygiene, not just across Northern Ireland, but England and Wales too. This means that would-be diners can be assured the rating of their local chippy will be consistent with a potential holiday hotel across the water.
Northern Ireland already boasts some of the highest food hygiene ratings available with the vast majority of all rated businesses scoring an impressive four out of five or the top five out of five rating.
Source: Food Standards Agency
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