Food Hygiene Information Scheme
We are participating in the Food Hygiene Information Scheme (Opens in a new window or downloads a file), the award scheme in Scotland which effectively ‘opens the door’ to the kitchen or food areas of businesses in the Outer Hebrides to consumers.
The scheme applies to all food outlets that supply food to consumers. Each food outlet is asked to display a certificate on the door or window of their premises, which shows whether they have passed their hygiene inspection, or whether improvement is required.
The scheme is designed to give straightforward information about how each food outlet fared at its last food hygiene inspection carried out by one of our officers.
The current list of Western Isles Food Premises (Opens in a new window or downloads a file) is available on the Food Standards Scotland website.
What to Look For
Pass A 'Pass' indicates that the business broadly met the legal requirements. These requirements include the conditions found and the management procedures in place for providing safe food.
Improvement Required Where a business has failed to meet these requirements it will be issued with an 'Improvement Required' certificate.
Exempt Premises A very small number of premises may be registered as food businesses in circumstances where it is unlikely that customers will view them as food premises. The assessment for such premises will have concluded that the food safety risk is negligible.
In such cases (and only with the agreement of the business), a certificate will not be issued and the information on the local authority website indicates that the business is currently exempt from the food hygiene information scheme.
Awaiting inspection Where a business has not yet been inspected, it will be issued with a temporary certificate advising consumers of that fact. This will appear as 'Awaiting Inspection' on the website. Premises will also require to be re-inspected where they have changed ownership.
If you come across any information that does not appear to be correct (e.g. a business that has ceased or started trading) please Contact Us.
Eat Safe Award
The main aim of Eat Safe (Opens in a new window or downloads a file) is to provide an incentive to food businesses to strive for food hygiene and food safety management standards beyond those required by law. For consumers, it provides a recognisable sign of excellence in standards of food hygiene.
Eligible establishments are assessed for the award as part of scheduled food hygiene inspections by one of our officers. The scope of the Award covers all establishments selling food directly to consumers.
You can search for businesses in the Outer Hebrides who have received the Eat Safe Award on the Food Standards Scotland (Opens in a new window or downloads a file) website.