Dirty premises, grubby hands and weird things turning up in food – these are common complaints that we hear on our helpline. These general concerns are reflected in our latest public attitudes tracker, which concluded that food hygiene when eating out is the main food safety issue people are concerned about.
We use the tracker to gauge people’s opinions on a range of food-related topics. This year, given the recent rollout of hygiene rating schemes in eateries across the UK, we’ve added three questions to the Tracker to try to monitor people’s awareness of the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme and the Food Hygiene Information Scheme.
The tracker found that 19% of respondents had seen or heard about initiatives or schemes concerning hygiene standards. When prompted, 21% of respondents said that they had seen or heard about the ‘Food Hygiene Rating scheme’ and 10% had seen or heard about the ‘Food Hygiene Information Scheme’.
This is progress for our national schemes; however, we know we can’t sit back just yet. We want to boost further awareness of the schemes and show how they can help to reduce levels of foodborne illness.
In February, a campaign will be rolled out across Wales to increase awareness of the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. It will be using a range of channels to get the message out and encourage people to look for stickers and check out ratings on the website.
Why not take a look at the following link on the schemes and check out the food hygiene ratings for your local area: www.food.gov.uk/ratings