Food hygiene ratings explained
Council food safety officers inspect every business that sells or serves food: takeaways, restaurants, cafés, pubs, shops, schools, care homes and food trucks. The result is a rating from 0 to 5 under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS), run by the Food Standards Agency in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
What each rating means
5Very good
Hygiene standards are very good. The business fully meets the law.
4Good
Hygiene standards are good. Only small things to tidy up.
3Generally satisfactory
Hygiene standards are generally satisfactory. The business meets the legal standards, with some areas to improve.
2Improvement necessary
Some improvement is necessary. The business needs to fix specific problems before its next inspection.
1Major improvement necessary
Major improvement is necessary. Many areas fell short and the business must make big changes.
0Urgent improvement necessary
Urgent improvement is necessary. The inspector found serious problems and will usually take enforcement action.
How inspectors score a business
The inspector gives penalty points in three areas. Fewer points is better.
- Handling and storing food
- 0 to 25 points. Hygiene while food is prepared, cooked, cooled, reheated and stored.
- Premises
- 0 to 25 points. Cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation, pest control and other facilities.
- Management
- 0 to 30 points. How the business manages food safety, keeps records and trains staff, so standards hold up over time.
The three scores are added up. The total sets the rating, and no single score may be worse than the limit for that rating.
RatingTotal pointsWorst single score
50 to 15no more than 5
420no more than 10
325 to 30no more than 10
235 to 40no more than 15
145 to 50no more than 20
0over 50more than 20
Every business page on RatedEats shows its three scores as bars, so you can see where it lost points.
Scotland
Scotland uses the Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS), run by Food Standards Scotland. Businesses get Pass or Improvement Required instead of a number. That is why Scottish councils are not in the league table.
Other results you may see
…Awaiting inspection
A new business, or one that has changed owner, that the council has not inspected yet. It may already be trading.
–Exempt
Low-risk businesses, such as a newsagent selling only wrapped sweets, are registered but not rated.
Showing, appealing and re-rating
In Wales and Northern Ireland businesses must, by law, display their sticker where customers can see it. In England, showing it is voluntary, so a missing sticker can be worth checking.
A business that disagrees with its rating can appeal to the council within 21 days of being told the result. It can publish a right to reply on the FSA site. After fixing the problems, it can ask for a re-inspection for a new rating.
The full rules are on the Food Standards Agency website.
Where RatedEats gets its data
Every rating comes from the open data the FSA publishes for each council. RatedEats checks for new council files every 10 minutes and keeps a record of each rating change it sees, which powers the weekly upgrades and downgrades. A rating can take a few weeks to appear after an inspection, while the council processes it and the appeal period runs. For the official record, always check ratings.food.gov.uk.