As workplaces across the borough start thinking about venues for this year’s Christmas party the Food Standards Agency are encouraging organisers to ‘look before they book’.
The Agency are urging people to only book restaurants and venues that take food hygiene seriously.
Nina Purcell, Director of Local Delivery at the FSA, said: “You need to consider a lot of things when picking the perfect venue for your Christmas party and you’re usually not short of opinions from work colleagues, but please don’t forget about the food hygiene rating.
“It’s very easy to check on our website or just ask the business. We recommend food businesses with at least a ‘3’ and most food businesses are achieving this.
She added: “There are plenty of potential regrets at the work Christmas party, but you can help to ensure food poisoning isn’t one of them.”
The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is run by local authorities in England, Northern Ireland and Wales and applies to all food businesses including restaurants, pubs, and cafes.
Each business is given their hygiene rating when it is inspected by a food safety officer from the business’s local authority. They will check how well the business is meeting the law by looking at:
- how hygienically the food is handled – how it is prepared, cooked, re-heated, cooled and stored;
- the condition of the structure of the buildings – the cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation, pest control and other facilities;
- and how the business manages and records what it does to make sure food is safe.
At the end of the inspection, the business is given one of the six ratings from ‘0-5’. The top rating of ‘5’ means that the business was found to have ‘very good’ hygiene standards. Any business should be able to reach this top rating.
You can find all food hygeine standards ratings here: www.food.gov.uk/ratings
