15 Dec 2011
Welsh restaurants and takeaways could soon have their “scores-on-the-doors” as the Government is keen for premises to display their hygiene ratings.
Welsh ministers want to drive up hygiene standards with the new system where firms will be rated between zero to five based on how the food is prepared, cooked, cooled and stored, as well as the condition of the premises.
All businesses selling food, including supermarkets, would be made to display their score for customers to see easily or face fines of up to £1,000, and customers could even find out scores online.
The new plans, which are due to be published in a draft bill soon, would reach around 30,000 businesses in the country and come following a number of E.coli outbreaks in Wales.
At the moment the Food Standards Agency (FSA) rate over 13,500 businesses under a voluntary scheme but it is thought only one in three actually display the rating.
Copyright Press Association 2011