Grading system for food shops on the way

Food businesses in North Norfolk will have star ratings in their windows from June.The district has joined 200 others across the UK running a Scores on the Doors scheme aimed at driving up hygiene standards and giving customers confidence in where they shop and eat.

By RICHARD BATSON

richard.batson@archant.co.uk

Food businesses in North Norfolk will have star ratings in their windows from June.

The district has joined 200 others across the UK running a Scores on the Doors scheme aimed at driving up hygiene standards and giving customers confidence in where they shop and eat.

Some 700 businesses that prepare and sell food in North Norfolk have been given a rating during their normal hygiene inspections by environmental health officers over in the last two years.

North Norfolk District Council is about to inform them of the ratings, which businesses can challenge if they do not agree.

Star ratings are awarded based on three criteria: food hygiene and safety, structure and cleaning and confidence in management.

The scheme will be launched on June 8 and ratings, including those that don't serve food directly to the general public, like schools and care homes, will be viewable on the national website www.scores

onthedoors.org.uk and via the council website, www.northnorfolk.org.

They will be updated after every scheduled inspection.

The council's commercial team leader, Alan Dixon, said: "North Norfolk is deservedly well-known for its food, especially the quality of its local produce and its cooking.

"This star rating scheme will give businesses a way of proving how dedicated they are to their customers, and it will give some outlets an incentive to try a bit harder. Either way, it's good for business.

"It will also reinforce North Norfolk's great reputation as a place to visit, by showing how well we compare with other parts of the country."