Food hygiene rating scheme
The scheme provides consumers with information about hygiene standards in food business establishments at the time they are inspected to check compliance with legal requirements on food hygiene. The food hygiene rating reflects the inspection findings.
In particular the scheme:
- helps consumers to make informed choices about the places they eat at and where they buy food
- encourages businesses to improve hygiene standards
- works by using a simple scoring system for food businesses
Any business that receives a food hygiene inspection is given a risk rating between five and zero, depending on the standards found at the time.
Five is the highest rating, and Zero is the lowest rating.
This information is then published by the Food Standards Agency.
The FHRS incorporates safeguards to ensure fairness to businesses. This includes an appeal procedure and a ‘right to reply’ for publication (together with the food hygiene rating). These are published at food.gov.uk/ratings, alongside a mechanism for requesting a inspection/re-visit for re-rating when improvements have been made
Appeals
Before making an appeal, business owners or managers should contact the food safety officer first to understand why the rating was given. If the business owner or manager still thinks that the rating is unfair or wrong, they can appeal in writing to the Food Safety Lead Officer.
Business’s right to reply
The right to reply allows the business to tell customers how the business has improved its hygiene standards or if there were unusual circumstances at the time of inspection. This response will be published online, alongside the rating, by the local authority.
Request for a re-visit inspection
The business owner/manager can request a re-visit to get a new rating when all the necessary hygiene improvements have been made. There is a charge for a revisit requested under the scheme.
Details for a business are wrong
If you are the owner or manager of a food business and the rating, name or address details shown on our food hygiene ratings website are wrong, you should contact the food safety officer that gave you the rating and ask for the necessary changes to be made.
