Telford food premises given Scores on the Doors for catering hygiene

More than 30 restaurants, pubs, takeaways and other establishments serving food in Telford have been rated for health and hygiene as part of the council's Scores on the Doors scheme.

Environmental health officers from Telford & Wrekin Council visit every food premises in the borough and give a score from no stars to five stars on hygiene standards with five being the best and none the worst.

The results are published on the council's Scores on the Doors website to allow people to make an informed choice about where they want to eat.

Of the latest list, more than 20 scored four or five stars with just two getting none.

Those with five stars include St George's Food Van at Travis Perkins, Holyhead Road, Oakengates; Burton Borough School and Adams Grammar School in Newport and Edgmond Hall Residential Centre.

Premises with the highest standards in food hygiene and safety, structure and confidence in management get five stars, while those with the lowest are awarded no stars.

All premises scoring two stars or above comply with the law. Any star rating can be withdrawn if a business's standards are found to have dropped at a later inspection.

If a business improves it can let customers know through the 'right to reply' feature on the council's Scores on the Doors website, which is monitored.

Any business where an inspection has yet to take place is marked NYR (not yet rated).

The website www.telford.gov.uk/scoresonthedoors was launched in 2008. It was the first system of its kind to be developed in the county.

Councillor Hilda Rhodes, the council's cabinet member for community protection, said: "Food businesses in the borough, including pubs, restaurants, takeaways, supermarkets, private caterers, care homes and school kitchens are inspected by the council's environmental health officers and given a star rating as part of Scores on the Doors.

"This is then published on the website so that people can check the scores of individual places where they eat or buy food and make informed choices."