The National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme

The purpose of the FHRS is to allow consumers to make informed choices about the places where they eat out or shop for food and, through these choices, encourage businesses to improve their hygiene standards. The overarching aim is to reduce the incidence of food-borne illness and the associated costs to the economy.

 

There are six different food hygiene ratings (‘0’ up to ‘5’) - the top rating represents a ‘very good’ level of compliance with legal requirements and all businesses irrespective of the nature or size of their operation should be able to achieve this. Food hygiene ratings are published  on line at food.gov.uk/ratings and businesses are encouraged to display certificates and stickers showing their food hygiene ratings at their premises where consumers can easily see them.

 

The FHRS incorporates safeguards to ensure fairness to businesses. This includes an appeal procedure, a ‘right to reply’ for publication (together with the food hygiene rating) at food.gov.uk/ratings, and a mechanism for requesting a re-inspection/re-visit for the purposes of re-rating when improvements have been made.