Food hygiene rating

Eating out or ordering in a takeaway? Find out if a restaurant, takeaway or food shop has good food hygiene standards (opens new window). 

We are responsible for inspecting all food establishments within our district. Business that sell food directly to the public should have a food hygiene rating.

Food hygiene inspections

Our food safety officers inspect businesses to check how well they comply with the law by looking at:

• how hygienically the food is handled
• the cleanliness and condition of the structure of the building
• how the business manages and records what it does to make sure food is safe.

At the end of an inspection, a business is given a hygiene rating based on the below scoring:

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

Any food business should be able to reach the top rating.

Food hygiene support for businesses

Food hygiene rating advice and information for businesses (opens new window) is available on the Food Standards Agency website. Their website provides useful information about how to achieve a higher rating, how to appeal a rating and how to request a re-visit inspection. Businesses also receive this information when a rating sticker is awarded to them.

Request a re-visit inspection

If you'd like to request a re-visit to review your business food hygiene rating, a charge of £197.00 will be required for this service. To request a re-visit, please email us on foodhs@sholland.gov.uk to request an application form, or you can download a copy of the form from the Food Standards Agency website (opens new tab) and return it by email to foodhs@sholland.gov.uk.