People looking to treat their mums to a meal out for Mother’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.

Of the 1300 food outlets in the borough 73% have been given the highest rating and more than 95 percent of all the businesses 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 Mother’s Day one of the most popular eating out days of the year, the council wants people to go online and find out about the hygiene of the local venues.

Councillor Ian Fordham, Cabinet Member for Environment at the council, said: “We don’t want a special treat for any mum turning sour with people falling ill due to illness after eating out to celebrate Mothering Sunday.

“The health and wellbeing of our community is one of our top priorities. So it is definitely not a case of ‘mum’s the word’ when it comes to the standards of our venues. We want all our residents and visitors to take the time to check the food hygiene ratings before they eat out.”

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 6106