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Environmental Health

Environmental Health

In this Section

Food Safety

Photograph of a food hygiene rating

We aim to protect the public in Mid and East Antrim from food poisoning and from contaminated and unfit food. 

We:

  • Inspect food premises together with vehicles and stalls to ensure satisfactory standards of hygiene and food safety are maintained.
  • Investigate complaints of poor hygiene in food premises or contaminated foods (e.g. glass, metal, insects).
  • Check food labelling and descriptions.
  • Randomly sample foods for microbiological examination and analysis to check compliance with composition and labelling standards.
  • Investigate all notified cases or suspected cases of food-borne infectious disease and food poisoning and all application of necessary control measures.
  • Facilitate the provision of food hygiene training courses for persons working in the food industry.
  • Provide information and advice to businesses

Contact us

If you would like further information on any of the information on this page please contact your local Environmental Health office on T: 0300 124 5000

Food Hygiene Rating Scheme

To help you choose where to eat out or shop for food we are part of the national Food Hygiene Rating Scheme.

The scheme will give you information about the hygiene standards in restaurants, pubs, cafes, takeaways, hotels, and other places you eat out, as well as supermarkets and other food shops.

What is the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme?

The scheme is being run by Council in partnership with the Food Standards Agency (the central Government Department with responsibility for food safety).

It will help you choose where to eat out or shop for food by giving you information about the hygiene standards in food premises at the time they are inspected by one of our food safety officersto check that they are meeting legal requirements on food hygiene.

It’s not easy to judge hygiene standards on appearance alone so the rating gives you an idea of what’s going on in the kitchen, or behind closed doors. 

You can check the ratings and use the information to switch to or choose a place with higher standards.

It’s also good to share this information with friends and family.

Which Premises are given a rating?

Restaurants, takeaways, cafés, sandwich shops, pubs, hotels, supermarkets and other retail food outlets, as well as other businesses where consumers can eat or buy food, will be given a hygiene rating as part of the scheme.

Search the ratings of food businesses in Mid and East Antrim here

Why is the scheme important?

Telling consumers about hygiene standards in food outlets gives them greater choice.

It also recognises those businesses with the highest standards and encourages others to improve.

The overall aim is to reduce the number of cases of food poisoning which currently affects around one million people in the UK every year. 

The scheme is being introduced across England, Wales and Northern Ireland so it will help residents and visitors to make informed choices about where to eat out or shop for food not just within Mid and East Antrim but also further afield. 

This will also help ensure that businesses are treated fairly and consistently with local competitors and with their competitors more widely.

How is the rating calculated?

Each business is given a rating following an inspection by a food safety officer.

This is based on how well the business is meeting the requirements of food hygiene law at that time.

In particular

  • how hygienically the food is handled - safe food preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage
  • the condition of the structure of the premises - cleanliness, repair, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities
  • ​how the business manages what it does to make sure food is safe and so that the officer can be confident standards will be maintained in the future.

Each of these three elements is essential for making sure that food hygiene standards meet requirements and the food served or sold to you is safe to eat. 

The rating reflects the conditions found at the time of the last inspection and does not reflect the quality of food or the standards of service the business provides.