Food Hygiene Rating Scheme

Your local council will give your food business a food hygiene rating after a food safety inspection. The inspection checks if your business is meeting food hygiene law so that the food you sell is safe to eat.

The rating reflects the hygiene standards found in your business at the time of inspection.

What is a food business assessed on?

During the inspection, the food safety officer will check:

• how your business handles food and what food safety controls are in place - including how you prepare, cook, re-heat, cool and store food
• the physical condition of the business - the cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation, pest control and other facilities
• how your business manages safety of food - including processes, staff training and systems to ensure you maintain good hygiene in the future

These checks ensure that you meet food hygiene standards and that the food you serve or sell is safe to eat. Find out more about what to expect from a food safety inspection.

Exemptions

Some food businesses are exempt from the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, including:

• businesses that are low-risk to public health, for example, newsagents, chemist shops or visitor centres selling pre-packaged food that does not require refrigeration
• childminders and businesses that offer caring services in a private home

What food hygiene rating can I achieve?

After the inspection, the food safety officer will give your business one of the following ratings:

• 5 - hygiene standards are very good
• 4 - hygiene standards are good
• 3 - hygiene standards are generally satisfactory
• 2 - some improvement is necessary
• 1 - major improvement is necessary
• 0 - urgent improvement is required

To get the top rating of 5, your business must comply with food hygiene law. Once you are issued with a rating sticker, you are legally required to display it at or near each customer entrance to the business. This is often the front door or window. Your customers will also be able to check your food hygiene ratings online.

How often are food businesses inspected?

Your local council will give your business a new food hygiene rating each time it carries a food hygiene inspection of your premises. Businesses that handle higher risk food, or that have a history of poor compliance, are inspected more often.

If you are unhappy with your rating, you can appeal your rating or request a re-rating inspection from your local council.

How to achieve a high food hygiene rating

All businesses should be able to achieve the top food hygiene rating of 5 by consistently meeting food hygiene law. Your local council food safety officer can advise on what you need to do to comply with food hygiene requirements and improve your rating where necessary.

The Food Standards Agency has a range of tools, such as the Safe Catering guide and Safer food, better business pack that can help businesses manage food hygiene. It also provides general guidance on food hygiene and food law inspection.

Find out more about hygiene for food businesses.

Food businesses in Northern Ireland, including takeaways and restaurants, must display an up-to-date food hygiene rating. The rating must be displayed at or near each entrance to the food business. It can also be included in promotional materials, such as websites, flyers, social media posts and printed menus.

Displaying your food hygiene rating stickers

Under the mandatory Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, Northern Ireland food businesses must display their food hygiene sticker: 

• at or near each customer entrance like the front door, entrance or window
• where they can be clearly seen and easily read by customers before they enter 

Staff must also be able to tell customers the food business's food hygiene rating, if asked.

A business must only use images of its current food hygiene rating. If your rating changes following a later inspection, you must remove images of previous ratings from your premises or promotional materials, and only use images of the new rating.

Local councils may issue an 'awaiting inspection' sticker to new food businesses, or to businesses under new ownership, once they have registered. You should display this sticker until the council inspects your business and gives you a food hygiene rating.

Online food hygiene ratings

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) will publish your rating on its food hygiene ratings website. There may be temporary differences between the rating displayed at your premises and rating shown online. This can happen if:

• the local council is uploading a new rating to the website
• your business is appealing the ranking and awaiting the result

If you cannot find your business' rating online, you should contact the local authority responsible for inspecting your premises.

Promote your food hygiene rating

You can promote your food hygiene rating by displaying it on your menus, website or social media channels. Promoting your rating can benefit your business by showing your customers that you take food hygiene seriously and that the food you serve is safe.

Find out how to make the most of your business rating.

After a hygiene inspection of your premises, a food safety officer will tell you in writing what your food hygiene rating is, and issue a food hygiene rating sticker. If you believe that the rating does not reflect the hygiene standards at your premises at the time of inspection, there are steps you can take.

Appeal a food hygiene rating

If you disagree with your food rating, it is a good idea to first speak informally to the food safety officer who inspected your premises. Their contact details will be included in your rating notification letter. The officer should help you understand how your rating was worked out and advise if an appeal is appropriate.

If you still believe that the rating is wrong or unfair, you can appeal it in writing to your local council. You must submit the appeal within 21 days of receiving the rating notification. Details on how to appeal are included in the 'notification of rating' letter.

The appeal will be considered by an authorised officer who was not involved in the original inspection. You will be notified of the outcome within 21 days of the council receiving your appeal. In some circumstances, a food safety officer may visit your premises again.

Once the appeal process is complete, the council will publish your rating online. If you disagree with the outcome, you can use the council’s complaints procedure or challenge the decision by judicial review.

Right to reply to your food hygiene rating

The right to reply allows you to explain to your customers any actions you have taken to improve hygiene standards since your inspection. You can also explain any unusual circumstances that may have affected the rating.

To use this right, you should send your comments in writing to the food safety officer who carried out the inspection. Your comments will be published online alongside your hygiene rating. The council may edit your comments if they include any offensive, defamatory, inaccurate or irrelevant remarks.

Request a re-visit inspection

You will receive a new food hygiene rating each time your premises are inspected as part of routine local council inspections.

If you have made improvements to hygiene standards raised in your last inspection report, you can ask for a re-visit to get a new rating before your next planned inspection. You will have to:

• submit the request in writing to the local council
• explain what actions you have taken since the last inspection
• provide supporting evidence, such as receipts or photographs to show that work has been completed

There is a charge for a requested re-rating visit. The local council will provide details of the costs and how to pay.

Find out more about the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme safeguards, including appeals, the right to reply and asking for a re-visit.