People celebrating a romantic meal out for Valentine’s Day are being urged to check the hygiene ratings of where they are planning to eat.  

Stafford Borough Council inspects hundreds of eating out venues across the area to ensure they are up to scratch - with the results displayed at www.food.gov.uk/ratings 

Each business is given a food hygiene rating on a scale from 0 to 5 when it is inspected by the Borough Council. The top rating is ‘5’ - which means the hygiene standards are very good. The bottom is ‘0’ - which indicates urgent improvement is required. 

The council has given 990 businesses - which is around 70% percent - the highest rating and 85 percent of all the businesses in the borough have a satisfactory rating of 3 or higher. Many outlets display their rating via a certificate or sticker on the premises - but they can also be checked out online. 

And with Cupid’s favourite holiday upon us, the council wants people to go online and find out about the hygiene of the local venues.   

Councillor Mark Winnington, the Cabinet Member for Environment at the council, said: “The health and wellbeing of our community is one of our top priorities - and you don’t want a special occasion to leave a nasty after taste due to illness. So, I’d always urge people to take the time to check the food hygiene ratings before eating out for any occasion.” 

Information on all eating out places across Stafford Borough can be found at www.food.gov.uk/ratings. You can also check out regulations about allergens in food from www.staffordbc.gov.uk/allergyalerts

Press Release No 6002