05 July 2009A wealth of information about the hygiene standards of food businesses across the District is now available at the click of a button after a new food hygiene service was unveiled last week.
A number of four and five star food businesses attended the official launch of the 'Scores on the Doors' initiative at Sevenoaks District Council offices last Monday (21 January).
Under the initiative food businesses inspected by Sevenoaks District Council's Environmental Health Team are given a star rating based on the assessment of their food hygiene standards, from five stars for food businesses demonstrating excellent levels of food hygiene down to zero stars for food businesses demonstrating unacceptable levels.
The information can now be accessed by going to the Scores on the Doors section of the Council website.
Cllr Keith Loney, Sevenoaks District Council Cabinet member with responsibility for food hygiene, says: "Scores on the Doors' is about empowering the customers and allowing them to make more informed choices about where they eat, whilst at the same time encouraging the businesses to drive up their hygiene standards. I could tell by speaking to the businesses that attended the launch just how enthusiastic they were about the scheme, and I have no doubt it will be a great success."
The scoring system is based on three criteria taken from the Food Standards Agency's statutory risk rating system:
Currently not all premises have a rating as only inspections from 12 November 2007 are displayed. Scores for other premises will be added as further programmed inspections are carried out.
As part of the new initiative once premises have been assessed they will be sent a certificate and a window sticker with the relevant number of stars and will be requested to put these on public display.
A small number of food businesses, such as sole traders working from private addresses, meat cutting plants and slaughterhouses will not be included in the initiative.
'Scores on the Doors' is a national public information service where you can find the results of local authority food hygiene inspections of food businesses in many parts of the country.
Already over 70 local authorities have joined the scheme, with more to follow in the coming months. The national 'Scores on the Doors' website contains information about the scheme across the whole of the country.
For more information about the scheme locally visit www.sevenoaks.gov.uk/scoresonthedoors.
