• The scheme is a good advertisement for businesses that comply with food hygiene law
• It's a legal requirement for businesses to meet hygiene regulations
• Having the six different ratings gives businesses room to improve

• The scheme enables you to make an informed choice about where you choose to eat out or shop for food, as it gives you an idea of what's going on in the kitchen, or behind closed doors
• You can view the rating of the place where you choose to eat or shop by checking the sticker in the window, or view online at www.food.gov.uk/ratings

After a premises has been inspected an overall number rating is calculated based on food standards found at the time of inspection in the following three areas:-

• Compliance with food hygiene and safety procedures
• Compliance with structural requirements
• Confidence in management control/procedures

The rating does not reflect the quality of food or the standard of service provided to customers.

5 = very good - this means the hygiene standards are very good and fully comply with the law
4 = good
3 = generally satisfactory
2 = improvement necessary
1 = major improvement necessary
0 = urgent improvement necessary - is at the bottom of the scale, this means urgent improvement is necessary

In order to ensure that the scheme is fair to businesses, it has been designed to include a number of safeguards. These are: an appeal procedure; a ‘right to reply’, and an opportunity to request a re-visit when improvements have been made in order to be reassessed for a new rating. 

• You can appeal a food hygiene rating score if you feel the score does not reflect the conditions at the premises.
• You can request a re-inspection if you are dissatisfied with your food hygiene rating score.
• You have the right to reply to a food hygiene rating score given to your business.
• You can request your food hygiene rating score is published early.

There may be temporary differences between the rating displayed at a business and online rating for which there are valid reasons, such as:

• the business has appealed its latest rating and is awaiting the result
• we are in the process of uploading the new rating to our website

Even if a business achieves the top rating there can be a short delay while we update the website. We upload ratings at least every 28 days.

• If you cannot find a rating for business then you will need to contact us.
• You should also contact us if you are concerned that a business is deliberately displaying a higher rating to the one on the website to suggest it has higher hygiene standards than it actually does.

The FSA toolkit helps your food business get the most out of your food hygiene rating. They provide imagery guidance, downloadable resources and banners you can use for your website.

We offer a Safer Food Direct Pre-Inspection Service, our advisors will visit and help you understand the regulatory requirements needed to achieve the best possible National Food Hygiene Rating score.