The Food Hygiene Rating scheme sees premises allocated a rating of between zero and five at each inspection. As a rating of three or more is regarded as broadly compliant, then Preston has a compliance rate of 96%, and is rated fourth best in Lancashire.
AdvertisementIt’s actually worth noting that all Lancashire Authorities have a compliance rating of over 90 per cent.
Nine out of ten food businesses in Preston used to say “…You want to find fault and shut me down” whenever I arrived to carry out a food hygiene inspection.
Something needed to change. So by using an innovative approach, the business owners struggling to comply now have the opportunity to meet with me or one of the team.
Read more: Mandatory food hygiene ratings could spell trouble for these Preston outlets
The food team has helped lots of premises rated zero, one or two over the last three years, and the number of non-compliant premises has halved in that time.
There are less than 60 businesses in Preston not rated three or above, and currently only two rated at zero.
Once food business owners and managers spent some time with me, they found that actually we wanted the same thing – to spend as little time as necessary on their site, and to leave a successful business without finding any faults.
Read more: This is what hygiene inspectors found inside a Preston shop
I now want to challenge those few businesses still operating with a rating of zero, one or two, to make contact with the team and let’s work together to improve food hygiene in Preston.
Businesses can e-mail EHsupportteam@preston.gov.uk or call 01772 906907 to book an appointment.
Simon Neighbour is environmental health manager at Preston City Council