Lewisham Council is one of several London boroughs to sign up to the ‘Scores on the doors’ pilot project which runs until March 2008.
A star rating has been allocated to each food business in Lewisham inspected since January 1 2006.
Follow the link on the right to the Your London website to find the star ratings for food businesses in your area.
What kind of food outlets are included?
All businesses that sell or prepare food for public use have been rated. This includes takeaways, cafes, pubs, restaurants, canteens and newsagents who sell food.
How current are these ratings?
Scores given to food businesses have been applied to the time of the last inspection only, so the rating is simply a snapshot in time and may not represent current conditions at the business.
What do the ratings mean?
5 stars - excellent
Very high standards of food safety management. Fully compliant with food safety legislation.
4 stars - very good
Good food safety management. High standard of compliance with food safety legislation.
3 stars - good
Good level of legal compliance. Some more effort might be required.
2 stars - broadly compliant
Broadly compliant with food safety legislation. More effort required to meet all legal requirements.
1 star - poor
Poor level of compliance with food safety legislation – much more effort required.
No stars - very poor
A general failure to comply with legal requirements. Little or no appreciation of food safety. Major effort required.
If my business has been given a low rating what can I do?
All food businesses have a right to reply to a star rating that is posted on the Your London web site (follow the link on the right).
All replies will be moderated by an appointed person before being posted on the web site.
Comments that could be posted may include what remedial work has been carried out since the inspection to improve the star rating given at the next inspection.
The future of the pilot project
The pilot project is being led by the Food Standards Agency.
The idea of the scheme is to drive up food hygiene standards and give people information so that they can make informed choices about the food outlets they visit.
If successful, this pilot will be rolled out nationally to all food businesses that sell or prepare food for public use.
Further information
For more information about the scheme and to see star ratings for your local food businesses, visit the Your London website by following the link on the right.
Staff in the Food Safety team are always willing to give guidance on how this scheme relates to your business. If you need advice, please contact us using the details below.