Initially, the award will be limited to catering operations to which the public has access, including hotels, restaurants, cafes, pubs serving food, takeaways, coffee shops, in-store restaurants, most hospital canteens, some workplace restaurants (with public access) and catering college restaurants.
Dr George Paterson, Director FSAS, said, "The Eat Safe award scheme will provide an incentive to caterers to strive for standards beyond those required by the law, and will help consumers make informed choices about where to eat out in Scotland by providing a recognisable and well-publicised sign of excellence in standards of food hygiene.
We are not planning to reward businesses for meeting their legal obligations to their customers. They will have to go that extra mile to be entitled to display the Eat Safe logo. Consumers want to be confident in the food they eat, and the Eat Safe award will be a readily recognisable symbol of high food hygiene standards across Scotland."
Eligible establishments will be assessed for the Eat Safe award as part of scheduled food hygiene inspections carried out by Environmental Health Services. The issue and control of Eat Safe award certificates will be through local authorities and the certificates will be reviewed at every planned food hygiene inspection. The launch of the Eat Safe award scheme in Scotland follows discussions between the FSAS, the Society of Chief Officers of Environmental Health of Scotland, the Scottish Food Advisory Committee, Scottish Local Authorities and the FSA in Northern Ireland (FSANI).
More details about the Eat Safe award scheme are available from the Food Standards Agency.
