Food hygiene ratings explained: the 0 to 5 scale, how often inspections happen and how to get a 5

The rating scale

The FSA says a rating is "a snapshot of the standards of food hygiene found in your business at the time of inspection". The scheme covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

What the inspector checks

The officer looks at three elements:

• How hygienically food is handled: how it is prepared, cooked, re-heated, cooled and stored.
• The physical condition of the business: cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation, pest control and other facilities.
• How food safety is managed: the processes, training and systems that keep hygiene standards up, which tells the officer how confident they can be that standards will be kept in future.

You are told your rating in writing at the inspection or within 14 days, with the reasons.

How often businesses are inspected

Each council plans a programme of inspections every year, and how often you are inspected depends on the risk to public health. The FSA lists the factors: the type of food handled, the number and type of customers (for example vulnerable groups), the processes carried out before food is sold or served, and the hygiene standards seen at the last inspection. The gap between inspections ranges from six months for the highest risk businesses to two years for lower risk ones, and some very low risk businesses may wait longer. Inspections are usually unannounced.

Do you have to display your rating?

• Wales and Northern Ireland: yes. You must display the sticker at or near each customer entrance where customers can read it before they enter.
• England: no, display is voluntary, though the FSA encourages it.

Ratings of 5 are published on the food hygiene ratings website as soon as the council uploads them. Ratings from 0 to 4 are published 3 to 5 weeks after the inspection, to allow time for an appeal.

How to get a 5

The FSA says "All businesses should be able to achieve the top rating of 5", and that you must do well in all three elements to get it. In practice that means:

• Following the 4Cs every day: cleaning, cooking, chilling and avoiding cross-contamination.
• Keeping the premises clean, in good repair and free of pests.
• Having a system for managing food safety, which GOV.UK lists as a responsibility of every food business, and keeping its records up to date.
• Training staff for their role and keeping a record of that training to show the officer.

For the third element the officer needs evidence, not just good practice on the day. Level 3 food hygiene is written for the people who run that system.

What schools, nurseries and care homes score

Lift College analysed every rating the FSA publishes for school, nursery, care home and hospital kitchens. Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 7.9% of school, college and university kitchens and 11.8% of hospital, childcare and care home kitchens were rated below 5, with wide differences between councils. The full tables and method are in our food hygiene ratings study.

Appeals, right to reply and re-rating

If you think your rating is wrong, talk to the officer first, then appeal in writing to your council within 21 days of being told the rating. You can also publish a "right to reply" alongside your rating at any time before your next inspection. If you got less than 5 and have made the improvements the officer asked for, you can request a re-rating inspection. Some councils in England charge for it, and all councils in Wales and Northern Ireland do. The re-rating looks at standards generally, so the rating can go up, down or stay the same.