DEPUTY Minister for Health, Vaughan Gething has told international food safety experts how important a good food hygiene rating is good for business and good for public health.

The Deputy Minister said consumers have the right and responsibilities with regard to the food they eat and they should be able to make informed decisions about where and what they eat.

He set out the progress made in Wales to improve food hygiene standards since the Welsh Government introduced a statutory food hygiene rating scheme in November 2013.

Figures show 56 per cent of food businesses in Wales have a rating of five – a 23 per cent increase from 2012. Those businesses requiring improvement have also fallen over the same period to six per cent – a 13 per cent decrease.

The Deputy Minister said: “Our statutory food hygiene rating scheme is already having the positive effect of driving up hygiene standards and demonstrating, on the part of food businesses, that a good food hygiene rating is good for business as well as public health.”