Ulsan City Operates Pilot Zone for Restaurant Hygiene Rating System

Setting 'Byeolcheonji Food Street' Around Ulsan Grand Park Main Gate

Ulsan City is operating the area around the main gate of Ulsan Grand Park as the ‘Byeolcheonji Matjip Street’ pilot zone for the restaurant hygiene rating system to create a clean and safe dining culture environment that anyone can trust and visit.

‘Byeolcheonji Matjip Street’ refers to a street with many restaurants that have received hygiene rating stars in the restaurant hygiene level evaluation.

Ulsan City Restaurant Hygiene Rating System. Provided by Ulsan City

On December 27 at 3 p.m., the city held an unveiling ceremony for the ‘Byeolcheonji Matjip Street’ guide signboard in front of Ichadol Grand Park Branch, with the participation of 25 dining industry stakeholders, including 7 previously designated establishments and 18 newly designated establishments.

The restaurant hygiene rating system is a program implemented by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety since 2017 to improve restaurant hygiene levels, prevent food poisoning, and guarantee consumer choice. It evaluates the hygiene level of restaurants and designates and publicly announces hygiene ratings.

The application targets are general restaurants, snack bars, and bakeries. When business operators apply to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the Korea Food Safety Management Certification Institute evaluates 44 hygiene-related items such as personal hygiene management, compliance with expiration dates, and cleanliness of the kitchen, and assigns a three-tier hygiene rating: Excellent (3 stars), Good (2 stars), and Fair (1 star).

Designated establishments receive a certificate and a signboard, and the designation can be advertised inside and outside the business premises, on delivery packaging, and on platforms such as Naver and Baedal Minjok.

Currently, the nationwide designation rate for the restaurant hygiene rating system is 3.30%, while Ulsan’s rate is about 4.06%. Participation is somewhat low due to factors such as aging facilities, lack of hygiene management capabilities, and lack of awareness of the system.

Since June this year, the city has set the area around the main gate of Ulsan Grand Park as a pilot zone and has been promoting the ‘Byeolcheonji Matjip Street’ project to encourage expanded participation in the restaurant hygiene rating system and to create a clean dining environment that people can trust.

Since August, the city has visited general restaurants and snack bars within the pilot zone to hold one-on-one business explanation meetings and received participation applications from 29 establishments. From November, the city supported improvements to the hygiene environment of key facilities such as kitchens and stores of the participating establishments and completed preparations for the overall evaluation through hygiene rating consulting.

As a result, in early December, 18 out of the 29 applicant establishments were newly designated through evaluation by the Korea Food Safety Management Certification Institute.

An official from Ulsan City said, “Through the ‘Byeolcheonji Matjip Street’ pilot zone, we will activate participation from more restaurants and do our best to create a clean dining environment that citizens and tourists can trust and visit,” adding, “We hope citizens will use many of the hygiene-rated establishments.”