Food Hygiene Rating Scheme
Contents
- How the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme works
- Frequently asked questions
- What is the food hygiene rating scheme for?
- What types of food business are given a rating?
- How do we calculate your Food Hygiene Rating?
- Food Hygiene and Safety
- Structure and Cleaning
- Confidence in Management and Control Systems
- How to calculate your food hygiene rating
- How often will my food business be given a new rating?
- What can I do if I do not agree with my Food Hygiene Rating?
- How can I ask for a rescore?
- What happens after my inspection and my rating is correct?
- Do I have to display my rating?
You can find food rating information and results for Rushcliffe by using the simple search facility on Food Hygiene Rating Scheme.
If you need to find out more about the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) please use the Frequently Asked Questions section below.
How the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme works
The food hygiene scheme will help you choose where to eat out or shop for food by giving you information about the hygiene standards in restaurants, pubs, cafes, takeaways, hotels, and other places you eat out. Supermarkets and other food shops are also included in the scheme.
Each business is given a ‘hygiene rating’ when it is inspected by one of our food safety officers. The hygiene rating shows how closely the business is meeting the requirements of food hygiene law.
Our food safety officer inspecting a business checks how well the business is meeting the law by looking at:
- how hygienically the food is handled – how it is prepared, cooked, re-heated, cooled and stored
- the condition of the structure of the buildings – the cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities
- how the business manages and records what it does to make sure food is safe.
The business is given one of the six ratings. The top rating of ‘5’ means that the business was found to have ‘very good’ hygiene standards. Any business should be able to reach this top rating.
Our food safety officer will explain to the person who owns or manages the business what improvements are needed and how they can achieve the top rating of '5'. We will check that these improvements are made.
When you eat out or shop for food, you might see a sticker in the window or on the door (please see below for examples of stickers), or a certificate on display, showing you the hygiene rating for that business. Businesses are encouraged to display these stickers and certificates at their premises in a place where you can easily see them when you visit. It is not yet mandatory for the business to display the sticker if you cannot see one why not ask what their hygiene rating is!
Further information and guidance on food hygiene and the National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is available on the Food Standards Agency website. Our forms for requesting a revisit, appeals against your score or your “right to reply” and information on how we work out your score can be found in the related documents section.
Frequently asked questions – Food hygiene rating scheme
What is the food hygiene rating scheme for?
The scheme provides information on food hygiene to help consumers choose where to eat out or shop for food by giving them information about the hygiene standards in restaurants, pubs, cafés, takeaways, hotels and other places they eat, as well as supermarkets and other food shops.
It also encourages businesses to improve hygiene standards.
This scheme replaces the Rushcliffe Borough Council Star Rating scheme.
What types of food business are given a rating?
Ratings are given to places where you can eat out such as restaurants, takeaways, cafés, sandwich shops, pubs and hotels. Ratings are also given to schools, hospitals and residential care homes.
Places where you shop for food, such as supermarkets, bakeries, and delicatessens, are also given a rating.
Not all businesses in these groups are given a rating. This is because some businesses, for example a newsagent selling sweets, are a low risk so are not included in the scheme.
How do we calculate your Food Hygiene Rating?
When we inspect your premises officers are assessing how well you are complying with food hygiene legislation. Part of the assessment looks at three specific compliance areas (as seen in the table below) and gives a ‘risk score’ against these. These three areas are elements where you, as the food business operator, have an influence and therefore affect the score given. A lower score indicates better compliance in each area.
| Compliance Area | Scores | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food Hygiene and Safety | 0 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| Structure and Cleaning | 0 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| Confidence in Management and Control Systems | 0 | 5 | 10 | n/a | 20 | 30 |
In general the score given will equate to the following descriptions:
Food Hygiene and Safety
| Score given | General description |
|---|---|
| 0 | Standards of food hygiene are excellent. You demonstrated full compliance with food hygiene legislation and codes of recommended practice. |
| 5 | Food hygiene standards are high. Any offences are very minor and easily rectified. |
| 10 | Food hygiene standards are generally satisfactory and being maintained. Some minor offences were seen and there is room for improvement. |
| 15 | Standards of food hygiene are tolerable but many minor offences were seen. I accepted your verbal undertaking to make more effort. |
| 20 | Standards of food hygiene are generally low and/or a serious offence has risked food safety. A hygiene improvement notice or a revisit is planned. |
| 25 | Standards of food hygiene are generally very bad and serious offences have put food at risk. Evidence was collected to support criminal proceedings. |
Structure and Cleaning
| Score given | General description |
|---|---|
| 0 | The structure, facilities and standard of cleaning are all excellent. You demonstrated full compliance with the law and recommended codes of practice. |
| 5 | The structure and facilities provided are of a good standard. Any offences are minor and easily rectified. |
| 10 | Cleaning and maintenance are generally satisfactory and being maintained. Some minor offences were seen and there is room for improvement. |
| 15 | Standards of cleaning and/or maintenance are tolerable but many minor offences were seen. I accepted your verbal undertaking to make more effort. |
| 20 | Cleaning and maintenance are generally poor and/or a structural problem has risked food safety. A hygiene improvement notice or a revisit is planned. |
| 25 | Cleaning and maintenance are very bad and serious structural problems have put food at risk. Evidence was collected to support criminal proceedings. |
Confidence in Management and Control Systems
| Score given | General description |
|---|---|
| 0 | There is a HACCP based food safety management system that works well and you have an excellent track record. |
| 5 | There is a written food safety management system which works well. Any omissions to your written system are minor and easily rectified. |
| 10 | Food hazards are understood and control measures in place. You are progressing towards a written food safety management system. |
| 20 | You have a varying track record, no food safety management system and there is a staff training need. A hygiene improvement notice or a revisit is planned. |
| 25 | You have a poor track record, many untrained staff and no appreciation of hazards or quality control. Evidence was collected to support criminal proceedings. |
How to calculate your food hygiene rating
| Total Score |
0 - 15 | 20 | 25 - 30 | 35 - 40 | 45 - 50 | Over 50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Your |
5 = Very good |
4 = Good |
3 = Generally |
2 = Improvement |
1 = Major |
0 = Urgent |
How often will my food business be given a new rating?
A new rating is given each time your business is inspected by a food safety officer.
How often inspections take place, depends on your risk rating. The greater the risk, the more often you will be inspected.
If you make improvements to your food business, you can ask us for a revisit to be carried out before the date of your next planned inspection for the Officer to check the works you have carried out and if applicable give you a new rating. These none-statutory hygiene rescoring revisits are currently subject to a charge, see fees and charges. Before an Officer will come to re-inspect, please contact our Customer Contact Centre on the number above to arrange payment and request a re-inspection.
What can I do if I do not agree with my Food Hygiene Rating?
Your rating will be sent with your food hygiene report. You should speak to the officer when you receive your report if you do not agree and they will explain their calculation of your score.
If you still think that the rating is unfair or wrong, you can appeal in writing. You should complete an appeal form and send it to us within 21 days (this includes weekends and public holidays) of being told what your rating is.
You also have a ‘right to reply’. This is different from an appeal. You can fill in a right to reply form to tell us how you have improved hygiene standards at the business or to inform us if there were unusual circumstances at the time of the inspection.
During Appeals and Right to Reply’s your rating will be removed from the FHRS website.
How can I ask for a rescore?
If you make improvements to your food business, you can ask us for a revisit to be carried out before the date of your next planned inspection for the Officer to check the works you have carried out and if applicable give you a new rating. Please note that this new rating could go down if the improvements have not been made and other contraventions are noted. These non-statutory hygiene rescoring revisits are subject to a charge (see ), and will be carried out within 12 weeks of request. You can request this by completing Food Hygiene Rating Scheme: revisit request form and submitting via the details at the bottom of the form. Before an Officer will come to re-inspect, please contact our Customer Contact Centre on the number above to arrange payment and request a re-inspection.
What happens after my inspection and my rating is correct?
Your rating will then be uploaded onto the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme website. This is a public access website so your customers will be able to check what your rating is.
Do I have to display my rating?
Not at present. Mandatory display would require new legislation so the Food Standards Agency is taking a voluntary approach at this stage, though this will be kept under review. The scheme will be promoted both locally and nationally to consumers so that they can understand and use ratings in making their choices about where to eat out or shop for food.
Putting your hygiene rating on show is a good advertisement that your business meets the requirements of food hygiene law.
A good food hygiene rating is good for business.
Do it online
Documents to download
- Food Hygiene Rating Scheme - right to reply form
- Food Hygiene Rating Scheme - request for a re-visit form
- Food Hygiene Rating Scheme - appeal form
- Early Publication of Rating Request Form England 2023
Useful links