Eat With Confidence in Swindon

A new scheme is being launched today by Swindon Borough Council to give everyone in Swindon complete confidence in the safety and quality of the food they buy.

The Eat With Confidence scheme is designed to build on the success of Swindon Borough Council’s Buy With Confidence scheme for traders, which helps boost trade for its 28 members.

The new scheme will set new standards for food businesses to achieve, and is aimed at encouraging consumers to look for and spend money with businesses who are part of it.

All businesses displaying the Eat With Confidence logo will need to have achieved the highest food safety standard of five stars under the National Food Hygiene rating scheme, pass a rigorous audit, and have a record of good customer service with few complaints.

Katherine Walters, from the Council’s Environmental Health Team, said: “We want to reward the food businesses that take food hygiene and good customer service seriously, and are committed to operating to high standards.

”It will reassure the public, and at the same time drive extra customers to the businesses that are members of the scheme.

“We will continue to inspect all food businesses as part of the national Food Hygiene Rating scheme, which gives food outlets ratings of between zero and 5 stars, but although this scheme has helped drive up standard overall, it doesn’t compel businesses to display their ratings. It means that consumer awareness of food hygiene when deciding where to eat is patchy.

“The best food businesses deserve better consumer recognition, which we hope Eat With Confidence will achieve.”

Businesses will pay £50 to apply for the scheme and have the necessary checks carried out, and if successful will pay a £150 annual fee. They will also benefit from regular updates in legislation from the Council’s Food Standards Team, feedback on their performance through the year, and access to rapid help and advice from Environmental Health experts.

So far, 14 businesses in Swindon have signed up for the scheme. Mandy Cook, who co-owns Café Licious in Havelock Square, said: “It is a privilege to be part of a scheme that recognises and rewards businesses for high standards and hard work.

“We are sure that the Eat With Confidence scheme will be a huge success as it will help to raise standards in the town. This will be a benefit to us as it will give consumers confidence that our outlet is backed by our local environmental health team and this will help to promote our business.”