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Somerset Foodscores

We make sure all food businesses obey the law and supply food that is safe to eat. Now you can find out how well a food business did on its last inspection with the launch of our new Somerset Foodscores scheme.

The Foodscores website gives star rating information for food premises in North Somerset. There are several ways to search for information on the website:

  • to see a list of all assessed North Somerset food premises - in the centre of the page is a list of Councils available on Foodscores, click on North Somerset at the bottom of the list
  • to see a particular category of North Somerset food premises (for example cafes or takeaways) - on the left at the top is a box called Search by Council Area and Business Type. Under Region select Somerset and under Locality select North Somerset then select the Category you're interested in
  • to see the star rating for a particular North Somerset food premises - on the left at the bottom is a box called Search by Business Name or Address. Under Region select Somerset and under Locality select North Somerset then enter the business name and click on Find.

Our Environmental Health officers carry out regular checks on all food premises to make sure the public is protected and that high standards are maintained.

Under the Somerset Foodscores scheme star ratings are allocated to food premises at the time of their routine inspection and each food outlet is provided with a star rating sticker to display on the door or window.

Star ratings have been allocated to premises in North Somerset since 1 November 2007. The rating ranges from no stars for the worst levels of compliance, through to five stars for the very best standards of food safety management.

Star ratings are given on the basis of these criteria:

5 Excellent hygiene, highly confident in management
4 Very good
3 Good
2 Satisfactory
1 Adequate compliance, some non-compliance with hygiene legislation, more effort required to prevent a fall in standards.
0 Poor hygiene conditions found, some major non-compliance with food legislation, follow up action likely.
NR These premises are not rated as they fall outside the remit of the scheme. (e.g. it is a low risk food operation or food handling/preparation was not going on at the time of the inspection.)
NYI These premises have not yet been inspected but will be included in the scheme in the near future.

The scores illustrate how well the officers consider each business complies with food hygiene and safety legislation. They also judge the structural conditions of the premises and indicate their confidence in management to handle food safely.

Scores apply 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.

As well as carrying out a public service and making inspection information more accessible to the public, the scheme should also see an improvement in future inspection scores as food businesses will be keen to keep existing custom and gain new customers.

Somerset Foodscores is run in conjunction with the Environmental Health teams at Mendip, Sedgemoor, Taunton Deane and West Somerset Councils.

For more information contact our Food and Safety team.