As part of National Food Safety Week (June 4-10), Milton Keynes Council is partnering with the Food Standards Agency to shine a light on food safety and the team working behind the scenes in the environmental health department at Milton Keynes to help to ensure that the food we buy and eat is safe and honest.
Regulatory Serviceshas a team of dedicated environmental health officers whose job it is to inspect local food businesses to ensure hygiene standards are up to scratch. The team’s work has resulted in 87% of businesses inspected in Milton Keynes receiving a food hygiene rating of 3 (generally satisfactory) or above under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme.
The scheme covers businesses supplying or serving food direct to consumers such as restaurants, pubs, cafés, takeaways, food vans or stalls, canteens, hotels, supermarkets, schools, hospitals and care homes.
The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme helps people to choose where to shop for food and where to eat out by giving them clear information about the businesses’ hygiene standards.
There are six hygiene ratings ranging from ‘0’ (urgent improvement required) at the bottom to ‘5’ (very good) at the top. Businesses are given green and black stickers for display at their premises and all ratings are published online, so people can make more informed choices about where to buy and eat food.
The vast majority of food businesses in and around Milton Keynes are ranked generally satisfactory, good or very good.
Neil Allen, head of regulatory services, said: “We have a dedicated team that work hard to ensure that food is safe in Milton Keynes so that residents and visitors can dine out with peace of mind. Research shows that food hygiene when eating out is the UK’s number one food safety concern so we are really pleased that the majority of our local food businesses hold a rating of 3 or above.
Angela Towers, who heads the Food Standards Agency’s food hygiene rating team, added: “Working in partnership with Milton Keynes and their expert environmental health officers, we are dedicated to ensuring that people can trust that the food they buy and eat is safe and honest.
“Our Food Hygiene Rating Scheme empowers the public to make informed decisions about where to buy and eat food, it’s also proved hugely effective in driving up standards in food businesses across the country.”
