Lord Young: Food Hygiene Rating Scheme must be mandatory

The prime minister's adviser on health and safety law and practice, Lord Young, has called for mandatory participation in the Food Standards Agency's (FSA's) Food Hygiene Rating Scheme for local authorities.

This suggests that businesses around the UK would do well to ensure that they undertake food hygiene training, as those providing catering services will be given a rating of between zero and five, with results published in a digital database.

Furthermore, the voluntary display of this points system will be encouraged although, if necessary, this will be made compulsory following a review of the situation in 12 months.

"We are pleased that Lord Young recognises the clear benefits to having a single national scheme. It will present consumers with easy to use information on food hygiene standards when eating out or shopping for food," said chair of the FSA Jeff Rooker.

Lord Young made this recommendation in his Common Sense, Common Safety report, which aims to improve the perception of such issues and to ensure the general public and employers take these concerns seriously.