Preston shoppers to sample council food initiative

3:55pm Monday 7th July 2008

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Preston city centre shoppers will get a taste of the council’s FoodSafe this weekend.

Launched in March, the FoodSafe system, which rates food premises on recent hygiene tests, has been has been a huge success receiving more than 9,000 hits on the council website.

The council now intends to use its state-of-the-art Citizenzone vehicle to promote it to the wider public, demonstrating how simple it is to use.

The event will take place on Preston Flag Market on Friday and Saturday, between 10am and 4pm, and aims to raise awareness and promote public interest in the hygiene standards of Preston’s restaurants, takeaways and cafes.

Customers can use the facility to search for individual places they want to visit and for premises within a particular area of Preston to see how well they comply with food hygiene standards by viewing their star rating.

The system is updated weekly, and includes inspections of around 800 food premises, such as supermarkets, market stalls, bakeries, butchers, schools, hotels, residential homes and hospitals across the city.

Businesses with three, four or five stars receive a certificate to display in their windows, which helps make customers aware of the safest places to visit.

Coun Christine Thomas, executive member for community services, said: “The council has changed the way inspections are run to achieve more positive outcomes, and ‘scores on doors’ is a great way of letting the public know the best places to eat.

“The FoodSafe website allows people to look at ratings before they even leave the house, and I hope that people make the most of the demonstrations the council will be holding on board Citizenzone at the weekend.”

Almost 95 per cent of Preston’s premises have received three stars or more, which means food hygiene standards met or exceeded legal requirements.

To enter Preston FoodSafe go to www.preston.gov.uk/foodsafe for details.