Fancy a meal out this weekend? Residents in East Cambridgeshire can find out how clean and how well food is handled before they tuck into their dinner.

'Scores on the Doors' is a nationwide initiative which hopes to help us all know about the places we are going to eat.

At the end of a routine food hygiene inspection, officers rate a premises in line with the Food Standards Agency statutory code of practice to identify how often it should be inspected and what risk it poses to public health.

Part of this score will now be converted into a star rating from zero to five star - premises will also be able to display their star rating in their window.

Cllr Tony Parramint, Chairman of Environment and Transport Committee at East Cambridgeshire District Council, said: "The new programme is simple, and we think it will make a real change to hygiene standards in restaurants, takeaways and other place that sell food. for the first time, people will be able to get an idea whether a restaurant is clean and hygienic before they walk in the door.

"We have already rated around four hundred different outlets from local pubs, to cafes and even pre schools serving food ahead of the launch. The last few months have proved to be really eye opening. We have been pleasantly surprised by some of the high standards we have come across. However there are some premises who have scored very low or rated no starts which is disappointing.

"We hope that when members of the public and food outlets start seeing the star ratings on the website and in premises windows there will be an incentive to increase standards across the board. 'Scores on the Doors' has one aim and that is to improve food safety in the District. We hope this is a challenge which the vast majority are ready to take up."

For further information and help contact the team on 01353 665555.

ENDS

Notes for editors:

For further information contact Tony Taylorson in the Communications Team on 01223 699285.

Political contacts: Cllr Tony Parramint (Con) 01353 721105 and Cllr Ian Allen (Lib Dem) 01353 664993.