A new study has revealed that food hygiene standards at restaurants, cafes, pubs and takeaways in the Renfrewshire Council area are amongst the highest in the country.
Out of a total of 32 council areas in Scotland, Renfrewshire was ranked fourth, with an impressive 96.6% of its rated 593 eateries passing their food hygiene inspection.
The Food Standards Agency website holds the data from inspections carried out by each local authority under the Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS). Every business that serves food is awarded with a hygiene rating of either Pass or Improvement Required following an inspection. Only 3.4% of the food outlets in Renfrewshire received the Improvement Required rating.
Councillor Eddie Devine, Convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Environment Policy Board, said: “Excellent food hygiene is imperative to ensuring our restaurants, cafes, pubs and takeaways are fit for purpose, and these results reflect the high standards being achieved throughout Renfrewshire.
“Having the Pass rating allows consumers to trust that their food is being prepared correctly and in a clean environment. Officers from Environmental Health work with all businesses to ensure that all food premises within Renfrewshire are safe.
“This figure is a snapshot of the conditions found during an initial visit by an Officer and reflects that most of the food businesses are immediately compliant during routine inspections, while there are some businesses that require some further assistance and guidance to reach an appropriate standard.
“Our officers will continue to work with businesses to ensure that high standards are maintained in Renfrewshire to allow employees, visitors and residents to visit premises that are safe and clean.”
Other council districts with excellent pass rates include Orkney Islands, with all 111 of its eateries achieving a Pass; South Ayrshire, with 99.8% of its 601 eateries passing their latest inspection; and Perth & Kinross, with 97.8% of 406 businesses rated Pass.
As food establishments are asked to clearly display the rating that they are given by their local authority, the results of an inspection can be pivotal to their success.
The study, carried out my LoveMyVouchers.co.uk, found Highland, City of Edinburgh and Moray to be the worst three council areas for food hygiene ratings.
Linda Firth, director of the company, said, “We conducted this study to raise awareness about food hygiene standards. When people only have a limited budget for eating out, they want to be sure they are spending their hard earned money in restaurants and cafes that care about food safety.”