Incheon City to Expand 'Restaurant Hygiene Rating System' to 460 Locations This Year

Incheon City Hall

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon City is expanding the designation of the 'Restaurant Hygiene Rating System' for food service establishments within multi-use facilities with high visitor traffic, such as airports and department stores.

Implemented since 2017, the Restaurant Hygiene Rating System evaluates 64 items including cleanliness of the kitchen, dining area, and rooms through the Korea Food Safety Management Certification Institute, assigning a three-tier rating (Excellent, Good, Fair) and publicly discloses outstanding establishments.

The system aims to improve hygiene levels through voluntary competition among restaurants, reduce food poisoning incidents, and increase business revenue by guaranteeing consumers' choice of establishments.

Establishments designated with hygiene ratings receive various incentives such as exemption from inspections and visits for two years, support for facility renovation loans, and provision of hygiene supplies.

Last year, the city designated hygiene ratings for 232 establishments, achieving the highest record nationwide, and currently operates a total of 411 establishments. This year, by selecting 20 priority zones in multi-use facilities such as airports and department stores, the city aims to newly designate a total of 460 establishments.

The status of designated establishments under the Restaurant Hygiene Rating System can be checked on the websites of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and local district offices.

An Incheon City official stated, "Since awareness of the Restaurant Hygiene Rating System is low, we will actively promote it to citizens through media, websites, and tourism brochures."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.