Food hygiene scheme success for Council
Last updated | 19/03/2008
Perth & Kinross has become the first council area in Scotland to be completely covered by a new pilot Food Hygiene Information Scheme.
All 1,300 catering and food retailing premises in Perth and Kinross eligible for inclusion in the scheme are now issued with a certificate which confirms their level of compliance with food hygiene legislation at their most recent inspection. This certificate can be displayed in the window of the premises. Although participation in the scheme is not compulsory there is an implication of improvement required where a premises does not display a certificate, especially where a business is surrounded by businesses which do comply.
Consumers can see detailed food hygiene reports and details of certificates issued on the Council website by logging onto www.pkc.gov.uk/foodhygieneinfo. The provision of information in this format will enable customers and potential customers within Perth and Kinross to make informed choices and should potentially lead to fewer premises failing to meet their legal hygiene obligations.
The scheme was orignally launched in Perth city in November 2006. Since then work has been ongoing to extend the scheme to other areas, and as of March 17 2008 the whole of Perth and Kinross Council area has now been included.
The system was developed and implemented by the Food Standards Agency Scotland with the support and backing of consumer organisations and local authorities. It has also been introduced in selected areas of Fife, Renfrewshire, Aberdeen and Edinburgh City Councils.
Community Safety Convener, Councillor Willie Robertson, said: “Giving the public easy access to reports like this will allow them to make informed choices about the food outlets they use.
“These reports are also covered by the Freedom of Information Act, and so publishing them on the website should help reduce the amount of time and resources needed to respond to Freedom of Information requests.
“We also hope that publication of inspection reports will lead to fewer premises failing inspections by making sure their hygiene standards are as high as they can be.”
