Mother's Day
Don’t get more than your bargained for this Mother’s Day
If you were thinking of taking your mother out for a lovely meal for Mother’s Day, the last thing you want is to get more than you bargained for, such as a food poisoning.
With so many tempting offers from restaurants and take-aways and the pressure to get it right for your mum, you’d be well advised to do as much research as possible.
This research should include checking the hygiene rating of the food premises you’re considering, which really couldn’t be easier.
Every food outlet has a rating for its compliance with food hygiene laws. These range from 0 to 5, giving a clear, concise, consistent and fail-safe assessment of food safety – but are not a guide to actual food quality.
Three quarters of the premises assessed by North Kesteven District Council’s environmental health officers in the District score ratings of 4 or 5 – more than half score a 5, which requires nothing more complex that compliance with the law to achieve.
NKDC’s Principal Environmental Health Officer John Gibson said diners could easily check a restaurant, pub, take-away or even a shop’s rating online at www.food.gov.uk/ratings where a smartphone app can be downloaded to aid decisions taken on the hoof, and also in the window of premises as businesses are encouraged to display their scores. Ratings are also printed in the Council’s current NewsNK but you may want to check online in case they have since been revised.
“Ultimately we want to enable consumers to make better eating out choices, with more ease,” he said.
Check the rating of the restaurant you are considering either online, by using the App or by looking in the window
If the restaurant has a 0, 1 or 2 switch to one that has a higher rating
When looking for a restaurant choose one with a higher rating
Share by telling friends and family about the FHRS and the ratings restaurants have received
There are 778 premises inspected within North Kesteven.
731 ratings are issued: 397 are rated 5; 194 are rated 4; 94 are rated 3; 14 are rated 2; 29 are rated 1; 3 are rated 0
There are six food hygiene ratings from 0-5
5 shows ‘very good’ compliance with legal requirements and all businesses should be able to achieve this irrespective of their size as it needs no more than full compliance with food hygiene laws.
4 means ‘good’
3 is ‘generally satisfactory’
2 means that ‘some improvement is needed’
1 suggests that ‘major improvement is necessary’
0 shows that ‘urgent improvement is necessary’
All ratings are published online at www.food.gov.uk/ratings and through the Council website www.n-kesteven.gov.uk
Businesses are encouraged to display their certificates and stickers showing their ratings, but are not required to.
They can appeal and seek a re-inspection in advance of the next programmed inspection, and as such the ratings published here cannot be relied upon long-term
