BRENTWOOD Council is finally winning the fight against poor food hygiene standards in the borough.

The Food Standards Agency published a report in June which said the council was not doing enough to investigate food outlets which are violating health and safety codes.

In the report, the agency said notes made by council officers were not good enough and did not have the right information, so it was unclear if hygiene levels where acceptable or not at an outlet.

The agency also criticised the council for not following up customer complaints and said the computers used to deal with these matters where poor.

Now, however, the council has put in a number of measures which it hopes will improve performance in the future.

These include improving their computer databases, maintaining records from inspections better than before and keeping up-to-date records of approved establishments. The council went to all food and drink businesses in the borough and inspected them as part of the process.

Cllr Phil Baker, chairman of the council’s Business and Economic Panel, said the council was taking a step in the right direction.

He said: “Residents can now have confidence in eating out and we have moved from a position we didn’t want to be in to a more comfortable one.

“I have eaten at many of the restaurants in the town and I have personally never had a problem, but we should always be striving for the best and I believe we can get there.”

In March, the Food Standards Agency will conduct another audit to review how much Brentwood Council has improved over the matter.