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The Food Standards Agency is establishing a national “scores on the doors” scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for rating hygiene standards in food businesses.
The outline timetable for this is as follows:
Element of scheme Date Scope and exemptions to scope (type of business to be included) By end October 2009 Guidance on pre-launch/launch/migration issues for local authorities Data standard for use with the web-based IT platform for publishing scores Derivation of numerical score and “mapping” of this to the different tiers of the scheme By end February 2010 Safeguard mechanisms to ensure fairness to businesses Symbols, descriptors and branding for the scheme Consistency framework for local authorities for scheme operation By end March 2010 Peer review arrangements and auditing of the scheme By end August 2010 General guidance on all aspects of the scheme