Food hygiene ratings in Northern Ireland should be “targeting” online delivery services like Deliveroo and Just Eat according to a recent consultation.
The recommendations for next year’s Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) regulations will see new online ratings and enforcement rules coming into play through local authority reviews.
However, Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMDDC) stated this week that it should be given increased finances and time to review food outlets, including newly set up delivery services in the district.
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According to NMDDC, this is mainly due to a backlog of inspections that built up during the Covid pandemic.
Chairperson of the council’s active and healthy communities committee, Cllr Hugh Gallagher (SDLP) said: “People buying online deserve to know that the food they are being provided with is safe and healthy for them.
“The inclusion of hygiene ratings should be right across the board for all food providers and we should be including the delivery services. We can’t be excluding one service and including others, it has to be fair on all.
“Perhaps when new services such as Deliveroo and Just Eat come into the district we should review the service at that stage.”
NMDDC also believes that the estimate by the FSA of 26% of business in Northern Ireland using an online ordering facility is low and a much higher percentage is realistic.
The local authority did not suggest its own figure, however.
A council officer confirming its view towards online ratings said: “We will be targeting the likes of Deliveroo and Just Eat.”
In its consultation with the Food Standards Agency, the local authority provided a report to councillors.
It read: “NMDDC is aware that district councils are addressing the backlog of inspections that resulted from the pandemic and would point out that the focus for the last quarter of the 2022/23 year will be on working to FSA recovery milestone of March 31, 2023.
“The promotion of the FHRS (food hygiene rating scheme) online display regulations is not a priority in the current FSA recovery plan and it may be likely that district councils will not have the resources to support a PR campaign at that time.”
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