Press Release
First Eat Safe Awards in Shetland
Six catering establishments in Shetland have recently been awarded the Food Standards Agency in Scotland Eat Safe Award, in recognition of excellence in food hygiene and food safety management.
The Sandwick Baking Company Ltd, ESS Support Services at the Petrofac Laggan Tormore accommodation facility in Sella Ness, Scoop Wholefoods, Cope Ltd, the Handmade Fish Company and The Olive Tree have become the first establishments in Shetland to receive the prestigious food hygiene award.
Each will be presented with their awards at a ceremony this Saturday 12 November in the Bowls Hall of the Clickimin Leisure Centre.
The Eat Safe scheme was launched by the Food Standards Agency in Scotland six years ago and already there are more than 850 Eat Safe Award recipients across Scotland.
The scheme was introduced to act as an incentive to caterers to strive for standards of excellence in food hygiene and food safety management. Eat Safe also aims to improve public confidence, reassuring consumers that their food has been prepared with the utmost care.
Charles Milne, Director of the Food Standards Agencyis travelling up to Shetland to present the awards on Saturday. Mr Milne was delighted to announce the awards and hopes there will be many more across Shetland.
“I am thrilled to announce these awards – the first in Shetland – and hopefully it will act as encouragement to other catering establishments in the area to aim for the very highest standards in food hygiene. Congratulations to the Sandwick Baking Company Ltd, ESS Support Services, Scoop Wholefoods, Cope Ltd, The Handmade Fish Company and The Olive Tree for this fantastic achievement.”
The council’s Executive Manager for Environmental Health and Trading Standards, Maggie Dunne added: “We all like to know that the food we are eating has been prepared with the utmost care. This achievement shows how seriously these establishments take this issue and I’m delighted to see that their hard work has been recognised with the presentation of these awards.”
Eligible establishments are assessed for the Eat Safe Award as part of scheduled food hygiene inspections carried out by Environmental Health. The issue and control of certificates is through local authorities and awards are reviewed at every planned food hygiene inspection.
More information on the Food Standards Agency in Scotland and the Eat Safe Scheme in particular can be found at www.food.gov.uk.