A SANDWICH shop in Worcester City centre is celebrating after scooping an award for its efforts to provide residents with tasty, healthy food.

The Red Tomato takeaway bar, in Sidbury, will be presented with the prestigious Heartbeat Award, by Worcester City Council and the South Worcestershire Primary Care Trust, on Wednesday.

Anita Fletcher, principal environmental health officer, at the city council, said the takeaway bar passed every one of the 20 standards demanded by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health for qualification to the award scheme.

She added: "Customers expect high standards and the award reflects that.

"It's not just a matter of satisfying high food hygiene criteria on a one-off basis.

"Award holders have to show us that they can not only meet, but also maintain high standards with total compliance with all relevant food hygiene legislation including maintenance of records for food temperatures and food hazards."

Second

Red Tomato is only the second takeaway facility to have been awarded the Heartbeat accolade out of 600 catering establishments within the city.

Carole Neales, proprietor of the shop, said the key to the shop's success was its efforts to use as much locally produced food as possible, including organic, low salt, low fat, and dairy-free produce.

She added: "Obviously we are thrilled and we hope it will be good for business.

"I think our success is down to the fact that we take more care when it comes to the food we serve our customers and cater for a wide range of tastes, pallets and people with specific dietary requirements."

Allison Rex, spokeswoman for the SWPCT, added: "In a county like Worcestershire, it is good to see Carol Neales' commitment to using healthy, local produce wherever possible.

"We are always keen to promote a healthy diet and along with exercise and moderate alcohol consumption, coronary heart disease can be reduced in Worcester."

Now the city council is urging more establishments worthy of the award to be nominated or put themselves forward for judging.

The Heartbeat Award is open to all eating establishments, not just restaurants.

For further information on how to obtain the award contact the city council's Environmental Health Division on 01905 722207 or the SWPCT on 01905 760027.