Scores on Doors program

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Eating out? Getting food in? Check the Scores on Doors.

To help you choose where to eat out or shop for food, Murray River Council is participating in the NSW Scores on Doors program.

The program gives you information about the hygiene standards in restaurants, pub bistros, cafés, takeaways, hotels, and other places you eat out.

Visible hygiene scores

Certificates and stickers on display at food premises give you information about the hygiene standards in food premises at the time they are inspected by one of our officers. Council officers check that businesses are meeting legal requirements for food hygiene.

It’s not easy to judge hygiene standards on appearance alone. The Scores on Doors certificates and stickers give you an idea of what’s going on in the kitchen, or behind closed doors.

Consumers can choose

You can check the scores and use the information to choose a business with higher standards.

It’s also good to share this information with friends and family.

Scores on Doors ratings recognise businesses with the highest standards and encourage others to improve.

The aim is to reduce the number of cases of food poisoning which currently affects around 5.4 million Australians every year.

At retail food outlets

Scores on Doors certificates and stickers can be displayed by:

  • restaurants
  • takeaways
  • cafés
  • sandwich shops
  • pub bistros, and
  • hotels.
Rigorous ratings

Each business is given a rating following an inspection by a council officer. This is based on how well the business is meeting the requirements of food hygiene law at that time. In particular: 

  • how hygienically the food is handled – safe preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage
  • what condition the structure of the premises is in – cleanliness, repair, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities
  • how the business manages what it does to make sure food is safe, so the officer can be confident standards will be maintained in the future.

Each of these 3 elements is essential to ensure that hygiene and food safety standards meet requirements and the food served or sold to you is safe to eat.

The score is for the conditions found at the time of the last inspection.

The rating is not for the quality of food or the standard of service the business provides.

There's 3 possible ratings

The rating system of Excellent (5 stars), Very Good (4 stars) and Good (3 stars), all represent various levels of compliance with the Food Standards Code.

The hygiene and food safety score reflects the standards found at the time the business is inspected by a council officer. These officers are specially trained to assess food standards.

All businesses should be able achieve the top rating of Excellent.

Excellent requires that businesses score well in each area of:

  • handling of food
  • condition of premises, and
  • management of processes.

Food premises awarded ‘no grade’ and not given a certificate and sticker are very likely to be performing poorly in all 3 elements. They are also likely to have a history of serious problems. There may, for example, be insufficient cleaning and disinfection, and the system of management in place may not be good enough to make sure the food is safe.

Some businesses may not display a certificate and sticker because they are not participating in the program.

For more information about Scores on Doors

Contact the NSW Food Authority on: 1300 552 406 or contact@foodauthority.nsw.gov.au

www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/scoresondoors