Star rating plans for restaurants

Restaurants are to be given star ratings for hygeine as part of a drive to reduce incidence of food poisining.

A simple sticker system would be introduced and the restaurant could be rated between zero and five stars by council environmental health officers.

Five stars indicates 'excellent' hygeine standards, but no stars suggests improvement is needed.
The star rating relates strictly to legal food hygiene requirements only.

The Scores on the Doors system would be launched in the borough in September, if councillors give the green light when it is discussed at tonight's cabinet meeting. (thurs22)

High street restaurants, cafes and pubs would  be the first to be rated under the initiative and eventually all food outlets throughout the borough would be included.

Cllr Colin Rayner (Con, Horton and Wraysbury) the borough's cabinet member for the environment, said: “We all have different tastes when it comes to eating out, whether we opt for pub grub, a spicy curry or haute cuisine. But one ‘ingredient’ we all demand is good hygiene.

"Scores on the Doors will help residents make an informed choice. We want to encourage all food outlets to have the highest score rating; the residents of the RBWM deserve only the best."

The information would be available on the borough's and the Food Standards Agency's website, as well as through a Scores on the Doors mobile messaging service.