Mid Ulster restaurants do well in food hygiene ratings

All local food establishments have been given a food hygiene rating from 0-5, with a mostly positive outcome for food establishments in Magherafelt and Cookstown.

Just some of the many eateries topping the scale with five out of five in there Magherafelt district were Apparo in Draperstown, Bryson’s Bar and Restaurant, China Garden in Tobermore, The Pizza Man, Corner Bar, Castledawson and The Village Takeaway, Bellaghy to name but a few.

Similarly in the Cookstown district many of the town’s favourite eateries were awarded five star ratings including: The Farmer’s Rest, A29 Service Station, Sinley, Leigh’s Chippy, Coagh, The Courtyard and Greenvale Hotel.

There were some local take-aways, coffee shops, restaurants and one local hotel which scored 2 out of five which indicates ‘improvement necessary’ and a few others who scored 1 which means ‘major improvement necessary’ in the Mid-Ulster area.

According to the list on the Scores on the Doors website, there were no establishments in Cookstown or Magherafelt which ranked as zero.

Catriona Davis, Senior Environmental Health Officer at Magherafelt District Council said: “It’s easy for people in Magherafelt to check hygiene ratings online and choose a restaurant for their Christmas parties that takes food hygiene seriously. This is an important time for local businesses. A good food hygiene rating is something to be proud of. It matters to customers so we are encouraging all food businesses in Magherafelt to display their rating and have a prosperous Christmas season.”

The Health Minister recently introduced a Food Hygiene Rating Bill into the Northern Ireland Assembly which, if passed, will make it compulsory for food businesses in Northern Ireland to display their food hygiene rating in a prominent place, so that consumers can see it before making a decision to eat there.

The Food Hygiene Ratings can be found at www.ratings.food.gov.uk/ or at www.scoresonthedoors.org.uk