Good food businesses strive for a distinguished food hygiene rating of 5, aiming to meet the highest standards in safety and cleanliness. Without thorough management checks essential elements necessary for achieving a top score can be easily overlooked.
The latest figures from the Food Standards Agency shows that over 800 food businesses across England have been rated a zero-food hygiene rating, and 13,400 have a rating below the satisfactory rating at 3.
Our very own Rob Easton, Head of Environmental Health here at Shield Safety, emphasises the importance of good food hygiene in your business, especially if you’re striving for full marks.
“Failure to maintain high levels of food hygiene can have devastating consequences, for the people eating the food, the business selling it, and the wider economy. Illness from consuming food that isn’t safely prepared and cooked can range from an upset stomach to serious life-changing conditions and even death. The Food Standards Agency has calculated foodborne illnesses cost the UK economy £9.1 billion a year. This cost, amongst other things, includes loss of earnings to those who are made ill, medical expenses, and disruption to businesses. Good food hygiene not only helps prevent food poisoning, but it’s also good for business. The research found that in the last year, over 50% of consumers checked food hygiene ratings before choosing where to eat and 41% of those would only consider a food hygiene rating of 4 or 5 as acceptable.”
Here at Shield Safety, we take the stress of safety off you and your business so you can focus on what matters most, your team and your customers. From outstanding Audits delivered by exceptional EHPs to our RiskProof software where you can become fully compliant with health and safety, fire safety, and food safety. Let’s make your business compliant, together.
Check out our services and how we can make safety simple for you here
