Food safety standards are on the up across the district, according to an environmental health boss.

Latest statistics from Bradford Council’s environmental health team, reveal 59 of the last 150 businesses across the district to undergo a food safety inspection achieved the maximum five stars rating.

All of the 15 food outlets listed in LS29 (Ilkley) scored five stars. They include Bettys Cafe and Tea Rooms and the Clarke Foley Centre.

The ‘score on the doors’ for the 15 listed in Menston were seven with five stars; three with four stars; three with three stars; and two with two stars. Only six businesses, all in Bradford, recorded no stars at all.

And Joanne Housley, environmental health manager at the Council, said the statistics reflect a move towards improving food safety standards.

“The general trend has been an increase in the number of five stars,” she said. “There’s been no magic one thing that I could suggest to put it down to. It’s the continued work of the team in terms of helping and assisting businesses and helping them achieve compliance and the other end of the spectrum is its maybe been enforcement in some cases to ensure compliance.

“Also, some time ago now we ran courses to help some of the businesses that had lower stars improve their star rating so we could be seeing a knock on effect from that now they’re getting visited.

“Whenever there’s an article in the press, it’s good in terms of highlighting the scheme and raising awareness with the public and businesses and I would imagine some of it must have a knock effect through peer pressure.”

The ratings of the last 150 business to be inspected, between Friday, April 15, and Tuesday, May 31, are on the council’s Scores on the Doors website.

They reveal a range of outlets inspected including restaurants, takeaways, burger vans, supermarkets, schools and churches.

In total, the Council’s environmental health team has 2,312 businesses to inspect and they are all scored using the same system.

“The basis is good hygiene, which is the people and the practices and simple things like wearing protective clothing,” she said.

“Then there’s standards of cleanliness, like good cleaning and being free from pests and is the structure in a good condition and then finally confidence in the structure of the management and that is around staff training and instruction. Have they got good procedures in place and are they being followed.

“I think the public do say ‘if they’re so poor why aren’t they shut’ but that’s not often the case. There are criteria for when we can close a business, but they might be just complying with the legislation.

“Where they are on zero stars or a very low rating it will be a combination of advice, assistance and enforcement action. We have a range of enforcement actions from notice to prosecution.”

There also appears to be an improvement from businesses maintaining a five-star rating once they have achieved it, Mrs Housley said.

“The biggest leap to getting the highest stars is having the procedures and documents in place and we’re finding it more and more and then maintaining it,” she said.

For more information about food safety inspections and ratings, go to scoresonthedoors.org.uk/council/bradford-metropolitan-district-council.