Northern Ireland scores highest average food rating in UK regions
- Apr 23, 2022
- 2 min read
A report released this month (April 2022) by High Speed Training, has revealed that Northern Ireland has come out on top for the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS), beating England, Scotland and Wales.
The scheme launched in recent years is a partnership with local authorities in the United Kingdom, aiming to provide customers with information as to how well a business is upholding food hygiene and safety standards.
In the latest report, food businesses in Mid and East Antrim scored the highest average rating of 4.81 from across 447 premises. Ards & North Down had the lowest average rating of 4.57 from across 507 premises.
To gain a rating an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) from the town or city’s local authority visits a business at a frequency between every six months and two years, depending on the level of ‘risk’ the business presents. An establishment that is constantly handling fresh and raw food is considered at higher risk than a shop which mostly sells pre-packaged food.
The EHO conducts an inspection of an establishment to make sure that food safety regulations are being adhered to. They then rate the business based on their findings. The criteria and rating scale are summarised below.
Richard Anderson, Head of Learning Development at High Speed Training comments:
“As our analysis shows, on a whole, ratings are fairly high across the whole of the UK with every single region in the UK improving their average food hygiene score from 2019.
"However, for the proportion of establishments with a low hygiene rating, it can be extremely off-putting for customers and ultimately have a significant impact on your reputation and profitability as a business.
“There’s definitely more some establishments can do to improve their hygiene rating, firstly ensuring that all relevant staff have up to date food hygiene training and are aware of their specific responsibilities. It’s then a case of implementing good practices every day to stay on top of hygiene standards.”
