Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

Carmarthenshire has been named as one of the best performing councils across the UK for food standards interventions by Which? . The nationwide consumer advice, research, testing and ratings organisation has identified Carmarthenshire County Council as one of the best for its interventions to ensure food standards and safety , and also as one of the councils who have carried out the most number of test samples. Food standard interventions are designed to monitor, support and increase food law compliance within food establishments, and include activities such as surveillance, verification, audit, inspection, intelligence gathering, advice, education, sampling and analysis. The council achieved 99.63% of standards according to FSA statistics for the latest year available. In terms of the samples it has taken, in the last year alone the council has conducted 341 of standards sampling, equating to 1.85 per 1000 population, according to the FSA data. Sampling is important to verify,...

The readers of Which? Magazine have given a top rating to the National Botanic Garden of Wales at Llanarthne, near Carmarthen. A survey of more than 4,000 subscribers of the Consumers’ Association’s magazine saw the Carmarthenshire attraction rated at 79%, based on overall satisfaction and the likelihood to recommend. This put it level-pegging with the Eden Project in Cornwall and above such garden gems as Chatsworth, Blenheim Palace and Hampton Court. Home to the world’s largest single-span glasshouse and more than 8,000 different plant varieties, the National Botanic Garden received top marks for ‘value for money’ and disabled access, and was also highly rated for the quality of its food. Head of marketing, David Hardy said: “This is a terrific accolade for the Garden. We’ve certainly come a long way in 12 years. To receive such high marks for our food quality, value for money and disabled access is proof positive that all the hard work going on here is really paying off.” T...