Dudley Council’s boss for food hygiene is calling on borough businesses to focus on food safety.

Food safety officers at the local authority inspect food businesses across the borough to check that they follow food hygiene and safety laws. 

Once inspected, businesses are given a rating from zero, meaning urgent improvement is required, up to five, meaning hygiene standards are very good.  

The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme helps consumers to choose where to eat out or shop for food by giving them clear information about the businesses’ hygiene standards. 

Nationally, there are estimated to be around 2.4 million cases of foodborne illness a year, and common food poisoning bacteria include Campylobacter and Salmonella.   Two million people in the UK live with a food allergy, 600,000 people have coeliac disease, and others have food intolerances.

Food safety risks can be reduced by food businesses taking action on cleaning, pest control, food safety management and addressing food substitution issues, which can cause risks for people with allergies and intolerances. Councillor Ian Bevan, cabinet member for public health, said:

"Most Dudley borough businesses practise very good food safety standards, but we continue to remind any who are not meeting their obligations that we will take swift action to keep our residents safe.

"Our inspections enable us to maintain food safety standards and businesses should be reminded that a visit from one of our inspectors can happen at any time.

"Residents who want to know how their local food shop or restaurant is performing can find out quickly and easily online with the simple food hygiene rating system."

The FHRS rating shows how well the business is doing overall, based on standards found at the time of inspection. The ratings can be found online and on stickers which are displayed at business premises.

More information for small businesses on food safety management procedures and food hygiene regulations is available on food.gov.uk.