Food hygiene rating

Each year we'll come out and inspect your business, after our visit we'll issue a food hygiene rating from 0 to 5 and a green sticker to be displayed at the business. This rating is published on the Food Standards Agency website. Check Ratings

Find out more about food law and inspections.

The Food Standard agency has some helpful advice on how to promote good hygiene.

I’m not happy with the rating I was given

If you’re not happy with the rating you’ve been given you have 3 options set out below:

1) Apply for a new rating if you improve hygiene standards. There is a fee of £195. If wish to apply you must complete each of the two steps below:

Step 1. Complete this Request for Rescore Form and supply evidence of the improvements made.

Step 2. Make the payment – select “Food Hygiene and Safety” and “Food Hygiene Rating Rescore”

2) Right to Reply If you have improved hygiene standards since your inspection, or if there were unusual circumstances at the time and you want to explain this to your customers, complete the right to reply form .This information will be published with your hygiene rating on the Food Standards Agency website.

3) Appeal You can appeal if you think that the rating is wrong or unfair – in other words it does reflect the hygiene standards at the time of the inspection. You must lodge an appeal within 21 days of being told what your hygiene rating is by completing the appeal form .This will be dealt with by the Food, Health and Housing Manager. Discussing how the rating was worked with the officer first will not change the 21 day deadline appeal period. You may subsequently withdraw the appeal if you wish.

Food Hygiene Rating Scheme

The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is a Food Standards Agency/local authority partnership initiative designed to help consumers choose where to eat out or shop for food. It does this byinforming them about the hygiene standards in food outlets at the time they are inspected to check compliance with legal requirements.

When you eat out or shop for food, you might see a sticker in the window or on the door showing you the hygiene rating for that business. Every premises which falls within the scheme is given a sticker and encouraged to display it in a clearly visible place. These stickers also show the date the hygiene standards were assessed by the local authority's food safety officer. If you don't see the rating at a takeaway or other food business, you can ask a member of staff if the business is in the scheme and what rating was given at the last inspection.