Information on food hygiene ratings
Find out more about the scheme as well as information for food businesses about appeals and re-inspections.
Information for residents
The Food Hygiene Ratings website lists all the food businesses that have been inspected under the scheme.
The scheme gives customers information about the hygiene standards in food premises at the time they are inspected. The hygiene rating given reflects what the food safety officer finds at the time.
It's not easy to judge hygiene standards on appearance alone so the rating gives you an idea of what's going on in the kitchen, or behind closed doors.
All food businesses are given a sticker showing their rating and have a legal duty to display it in a prominent place (such as the front door or window) and at all customer entrances and provide information on their rating verbally if asked.
The ratings range from 5 (very good) down to 0 (urgent improvements necessary).
Information for food businesses
The food hygiene rating scheme is the chance to promote your food business's standards of food hygiene to your customers.
At inspection, scores are given for three areas:
- how hygienically the food is handled - how it is prepared, cooked, re-heated, cooled and stored
- the condition of the structure of the premises - cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities
- how the business manages and records what it does to make sure food is safe.
These scores are then converted to a food hygiene rating. Ratings will be published on a national website and you will be required to display a sticker in a prominent place (such as a front door or window) to your food business to show your rating.
| Total score | Maximum scoring factor | Rating | Hygiene standards |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 - 15 | No score greater than 5 | 5 (top) | Very good |
| 20 | No score greater than 10 | 4 | Good |
| 25 - 30 | No score greater than 10 | 3 | Generally satisfactory |
| 35 - 40 | No score greater than 15 | 2 | Improvement necessary |
| 45 - 50 | No score greater than 20 | 1 | Major investment necessary |
| > 50 | - | 0 (bottom) | Urgent improvement necessary |
If you are unhappy with the score that you have achieved you have the right to reply, Appeal against your food hygiene rating score, or request a re-inspection.
The scheme in Wales is operated in accordance with the Food Hygiene Rating (Wales) Act but the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme also runs in England and Northern Ireland, with the ratings being based on the same information.