A scheme aimed at informing customers about the most hygienic places to eat has been rolled out by a further five local authorities.
The Food Standards Agency has now introduced its Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) in Basingstoke and Deane, Broxbourne, Sefton, Test Valley and Winchester City.
The FHRS scores restaurants on a scale between zero and five – zero being the least hygienic and five being the most. The scores are then displayed in the window of each food premises.
The aim of the FHRS is to assist the public in finding the best places to eat and shop for food.
Premises with poor hygiene standards may put patrons at risk of contracting food poisoning.
Should an outbreak occur, the public and products liability section of a business's restaurant insurance should cover it if it becomes legally liable to pay in respect of accidental injury to any person caused by the nature or condition of anything sold or supplied by the business.
Such insurance is important for all types of restaurant, as it is not just small firms that can find themselves caught up in a health scare.
A number of celebrity restaurants have been involved in issues surrounding hygiene and in a recent case in 2009, it was reported by the Guardian that one such restaurant was responsible for the biggest single norovirus outbreak ever recorded at an eatery after over 200 people became ill from eating contaminated oysters.
Safety officials are currently issuing warnings and guidance to restaurants not to let their standards slip over the busy Christmas period.
Chief executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland professor Alan Reilly says: "Particular attention should be paid to food storage and refrigeration facilities, as stock piling for the festive season can mean that a premises is holding a higher quantity of perishable foods."
