Eat Safe awards presented on Isle of Skye

Two hospitals, a local charity and a hotel are the first premises on the Isle of Skye to be awarded Eat Safe Awards after demonstrating that their standards of hygiene and food safety are well above that required by legislation.

The Eat Safe award scheme is run in conjunction with the Food Standards Agency and Local Authorities throughout Scotland and aims to promote excellence in food hygiene and food safety management.  The award is presented to premises that wholly comply with the Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and the associated EC regulations. 

The MacKinnon Memorial Hospital in Broadford and Portree Community Hospital as well as local mental health drop-in centre Am Fasgadh and the Bosville Hotel in Portree can all now proudly display their special Eat Safe certificates after being awarded them by Environmental Health.

The Highland Council’s Environmental Health Officer Coila Hunter said:  “To get an Eat Safe Award you have to operate over and above the national hygiene standards and have consistently high standards. Another criteria that is looked for is that staff working within the kitchen environment all have to be trained to an appropriate standard for their positions within the kitchen. 

“Following very positive inspections earlier this year at all four premises it was obvious that they all had done a lot of hard work and had a high level of commitment to maintaining food safety within the kitchen so we had no hesitation in putting them forward for this national award.” 

The teams at Portree and Broadford hospital were delighted with their success.  Local Hotel Services Manager Cath Melville said:  “We’re committed to providing quality meals to our patients and high standards of food hygiene are fundamental.  Our small team of catering staff ensure our food safety management system is in place at all times and this has helped them secure the award.  It provides reassurance to our patients that the food they receive in hospital meets the highest standards.”

Am Fasgadh drop in centre in Portree is run by the Skye and Lochalsh Mental Health Association and is open seven days a week throughout the whole year. Manager Alex Jones said:  “We are really thrilled to get this accolade and all credit must go to our cook Joy Royce who deserves a special mention for all her hard work.”  Joy added: “I was over the moon when on a routine visit Environmental Health Officer Coila Hunter said that we would be recommending Am Fasgadh for the Eat Safe award, it is a real honor.”

The Bosville Hotel is the first hotel on Skye to receive the Award.  Head Chef John Kelly said: “We are delighted to be the first hotel on the Isle of Skye to win this award.  We believe that this high standard of hygene and cleanliness in our kitchen forms the cornerstone to providing excellence, quality and reassurance to our customers.”

Councillor John Laing joined Coila Hunter to present the awards at the Am Fasgadh Centre.  Giving his congratulations to everyone he said:  “Being able to display the certificate is a great recommendation and gives customers extra assurance that food they eat has been prepared to the highest standards.  It is a pleasure to present the awards to those who take the safety and comfort of their customers seriously and carry out their work with such enthusiasm and dedication.”