Barometer on the transparency of hygiene regulations in restaurants

Information on how well restaurants and cafés, for example, comply with hygiene regulations will soon be more easily accessible in Berlin.

On January 1, the Food Monitoring Transparency Act will come into force, as the Senate Department for the Environment, Consumer Protection and Climate Protection announced on Wednesday. This is intended to make it possible to find out what the hygiene conditions are like in a particular establishment before visiting a restaurant or purchasing prepared food.

Transparency barometer from green to red

The data should be displayed clearly in the form of a bar chart with a colour gradient from green for good via yellow to red for bad. The control result is marked with an arrow in the bar chart. According to the information provided, the transparency barometer will be placed on or near the entrance door of businesses that sell food to end consumers. The Senate administration has announced that the bar charts will also be published on the internet from mid-January.

More transparency for consumers

"With the transparency of the official inspection results, consumers can make well-informed decisions about where they buy or consume food," said State Secretary for Consumer Protection Markus Kamrad. At the same time, the transparency barometer gives food companies the opportunity to show their customers how responsible and hygienic they are in food processing.

Control results must be made visible

The companies concerned are obliged to make the information accessible. The law applies to all inspections carried out by the competent veterinary and food inspectorates of the district offices from the beginning of the year. The project, which at that time was still called the "Clean Kitchen Act", had already been developed in the judicial administration during the previous legislative period.