A new study has revealed that food hygiene standards at restaurants, cafes, pubs and takeaways in the South Ayrshire council area are amongst the highest in the country.
Out of a total of 32 council areas in Scotland, South Ayrshire was ranked second, with an outstanding 99.8% of its rated 601 eateries passing their food hygiene inspection.
The Food Standards Agency website holds the data from inspections carried out by each local authority under the Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS). Every business that serves food is awarded with a hygiene rating of either Pass or Improvement Required following an inspection. Only 0.2% of the food outlets in the South Ayrshire region have the Improvement Required rating.
Other council districts with excellent pass rates include Orkney Islands, with all of its 111 eateries achieving a Pass; and Perth & Kinross, with 97.8% of its 406 eateries passing their latest inspection. East Ayrshire was also in the top five.
As food establishments are asked to clearly display the rating that they are given by their local authority, the results of an inspection can be pivotal to their success.
The study, carried out my LoveMyVouchers.co.uk, found Highland, City of Edinburgh and Moray to be the worst three council areas for food hygiene ratings.
Linda Firth, director of the company, said, “We conducted this study to raise awareness about food hygiene standards. When people only have a limited budget for eating out, they want to be sure they are spending their hard earned money in restaurants and cafes that care about food safety.”