City eateries to be rated online

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Restaurants and cafes in Belfast will soon be rated online under proposals to publish food safety information on a 'Scores on The Doors' website.

Councils across the UK have already signed up to the pilot initiative and on Wednesday night, Belfast City Council voted to follow suit.

It hopes to encourage food safety compliance and reduce food poisoning.

Eateries will be rated on the degree of compliance with food hygiene laws. It is hoped the site will be up by spring.

"Publishing this information will be a handy tool for consumers, allowing them to make an informed decision about where they eat," Councillor Peter O'Reilly, chairman of the council's Health and Environmental Services committee, said.

"It has the added benefit of encouraging Belfast's restaurants, cafes etc to keep food standards high.

Rating

"People will be able to log onto the website and check the rating of their local restaurant and even their corner shop.

"Businesses will also be provided with a certificate and encouraged to display the information on their premises." Customers can view restaurants' commitment to food safety

The council said that the scheme has been hailed as a great success in the US and Canada, where it has been in place for 10 years.

Damian Connolly, environmental health manager with Belfast City Council, said recent inspections showed the vast majority of food outlets in the city had high food safety standards.

The council believes the rating system will ensure they remain focussed on maintaining these standards

Although in the early planning stages, the council intends to follow a rating structure which awards 0-5 stars, five stars being the highest standard possible.

Premises rated will include everything from supermarkets to hotels and fast food restaurants.

The council plans to score all of the approximately 2,800 food businesses in the greater Belfast area and publish the result of inspections online from late spring.