Irish consumers could soon be able to see at a glance the hygiene rating of restaurants and retailers after Ireland’s food safety watchdog began a consultation period seeking views on such schemes.
Food ratings operate in many countries and provide customers with signage indicating the level of cleanliness and food safety standards of a food business based on official food safety inspections.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland’s (FSAI) Food Safety Consultative Council is seeking the views of consumers and food businesses on launching a scheme here.
Food hygiene ratings are currently operating in Northern Ireland, England and Wales under the title Scores on Doors while in Denmark and France cleanliness can be deduced by smiley – and sometimes not so smiley – faces. They are also common in some places in the United States.
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Food ratings typically involve the public display of food safety inspection results as a number, letter or symbol on the business’s window and/or website, “aiming to increase transparency in the food chain, support consumer decision making and promote higher standards of hygiene across the food sector,” the FSAI said.
This helps customers “make informed choices about where they eat and purchase food from while encouraging businesses to maintain high food safety standards”.
The FSAI is calling on consumers and food businesses in Ireland to make their views known through an online consultation available on its website, with the cut off point for submissions set for June 23rd.
The results will better inform the Food Safety Consultative Council’s understanding of opinions about a food hygiene rating scheme for Ireland.
It will review how such a scheme might influence consumer decision-making and what implications it could have for Irish food businesses, such as restaurants, cafes, takeaways, hotels, supermarkets and shops.
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All responses are anonymous and participants will also have the opportunity to express interest in taking part in possible focus groups or interviews in the future.
“The FSAI’s commitment to protecting public health and increasing transparency in Ireland’s food safety system underpins this important consultation,” said the chairman of the FSAI’s council.
He said that such schemes “have been shown internationally to empower consumers and drive higher standards across the food sector”.
He said the FSAI would also listen to the “concerns the food industry may have” and he stressed that this was “not a decision – it is an evaluation process”.
He said that by considering international evidence and gathering views from both consumers and food businesses, “we aim to ensure that any recommendation made is informed, balanced and grounded in public and professional interests”.
The consultation period will inform a comprehensive evaluation report, expected to be finalised in early 2026.
