Food Hygiene: Know the score

Customers care

Businesses should take their food hygiene rating seriously. As more and more customers recognise the sticker, it can have a significant impact on your reputation and profit. Customers may decide to go elsewhere and avoid recommending you to others if you don’t uphold a good rating.

In a recent study, half of respondents had checked the food hygiene rating of a business in the past 12 months either at the premises or online. 80% would not eat at a restaurant or takeaway with a rating of 2, and this goes up to 94 and 95% for sites with a score of 1 or 0.

As displaying the rating is not compulsory in England, 49% of businesses choose not to do so. However, 61% of people reported they’d be less likely to eat at a business that did not have the food hygiene rating sticker at the entrance. This is because it creates worry that the establishment had a low food hygiene rating and was trying to hide it or it had poor hygiene standards.

We spoke to Eilidh Paton, owner of Alba Food Safety Consultancy and a Chartered Environmental Health Officer in Glasgow, about how crucial the scheme is.

Food Hygiene inspections and ratings are extremely important. From a legal perspective, they ensure businesses are compliant, but mostly, they are designed to help businesses provide safer food.

It also gives consumers the assurance that businesses are safe to eat in as they are regularly inspected by competent officers.

Eilidh Paton
Owner of Alba Food Safety Consultancy

The FSA actively encourages marketing a good rating to attract customers, and it’s clear why. Attaining and advertising a good food hygiene rating can have a significantly positive impact on the number of customers who choose to use your services, and therefore the profit you make.

One Poor Inspection Can Hurt

One potential limitation of the scheme is the fact that an inspection is essentially a random “snapshot” of the business, meaning the rating may not be wholly reflective of everyday quality. One recent news-worthy rating came from a restaurant in Hove which had previously been awarded the Tripadvisor Travellers Choice Award in 2021, but then received a one star food hygiene rating later in the year. It was later revealed the low rating was as a result of issues with the establishment’s fridges, which were giving a false reading at the time of the inspection. The owner immediately fixed this simple issue and is hoping to return to it’s usual high standard and reputation upon the next visit from the EHO.

It can take up to six months for premises to be re-visited following an unsatisfactory rating, and a further 28 days for the rating change itself to be reflected publicly. Therefore, there may be a discrepancy between a rating online and one displayed on a building. As a result, businesses could be losing customers despite having improved their standards since the last inspection.

If you want to make sure you are fully prepared for an EHO inspection download our free inspection checklist.

It’s not just about “Food Hygiene”

It’s easy to think that food hygiene is purely associated with how hygienically food is handled and prepared. However, the FHRS consists of more than this and each area is equally important to your overall food hygiene rating.

Issues with your management of food safety can significantly affect your overall rating. This is why you must demonstrate appropriate HACCP Systems, staff training records, and the knowledge and capability of the manager.

If you are looking for the knowledge and skills needed to manage your food business correctly then check out our online Level 3 Food Hygiene Course. It covers everything you need to know to ensure a food business is operating hygienically including contamination control, waste management and HACCP.

You Can’t Hide Your Food Hygiene Rating

Although displaying your Food Hygiene rating on your premises is optional, customers can still find it elsewhere. The Food Hygiene Ratings Information website has had more monthly visitors than ever since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, showing that there is an increasing public interest in hygiene ratings.

Popular food delivery services are also following suit. Just Eat removed all zero rated sites from its platform in 2019 and any new restaurants wishing to join must have an FHRS rating of 3, whereas Deliveroo and Uber Eats are allowing businesses with 2 star food hygiene ratings to be listed on their platforms.

Furthermore, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic through which the hospitality sector particularly struggled, Just Eat worked alongside NSF to offer all 1 and 2 rated premises free audit and re-inspection support. The steps Just Eat have taken emphasises again that food hygiene ratings are an important part of a food business’s success, and are constantly being checked, not just by consumers, but also by other businesses.

Faking Your Food Hygiene Rating Isn’t Worth It

Displaying a false food hygiene rating is, under the Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, illegal and the number of penalties being handed out is steadily increasing as authorities crack down on offenders.

Recently, it’s been exposed that businesses have been buying fake food hygiene rating stickers from sites such as ebay, to display a false rating higher than the one they actually received. One eBay member sold 58 fake stickers from one advert alone, potentially making as much as £500. The listings have now been removed from the site and any found offenders will be charged with severe fines. It has been suggested that Food Hygiene rating stickers should carry a hologram or unique number to make them harder to fake.

In 2020, a Solihull takeaway was ordered to pay costs totalling £2,100 by Birmingham Magistrates Court for advertising a false food hygiene rating, proving that penalties for false food hygiene advertising are too high to risk.

Whereas the infrequency of inspections previously made false advertising difficult to police, it’s now easier and more common for customers to check the rating on the door against those held online by the FSA. Combine the fine with the inevitable bad press and reputational damage, faking a rating simply isn’t worth the risk to your business.

If you feel as though a recent inspection hasn't reflected your usual standards, use our guide to find out how to appeal your food hygiene rating.

If you’re looking for information on how to improve your hygiene rating, Elidh believes speaking to an EHO is a good place to start.

Our primary role is to provide advice rather than enforcement. EHOs would much rather a business engage with them and adopt their recommendations than view their interactions as a negative experience. So speak to your EHO, ask them questions, and ask for their advice.

Eilidh Paton
Owner of Alba Food Safety Consultancy

It’s Down To You To Check

Although food businesses have a legal duty to run their business hygienically, customers should always check a business’s hygiene rating if they want to minimise the risk of eating at an unsafe establishment.

When it comes to food hygiene ratings, it seems ignorance is not bliss. Over the past few years, there’s been an increasing demand for England to follow Northern Ireland and Wales in making it mandatory for businesses to display their ratings. In a recent survey, out of those that had heard of the FHRS, 95% thought that businesses should be required by law to display the food hygiene rating at their premises.

Customers should be more aware of Food Hygiene ratings, so they can spend their money in businesses that invest in their safety. They should be easier to access but I believe this could only be achieved by making it mandatory for businesses to display their ratings.

Eilidh Paton
Owner of Alba Food Safety Consultancy

Whilst it’s still optional, however, it’s even more important to check individual food hygiene ratings using the Food Standards Agency’s information or by downloading the Scores on the Doors app on your mobile. Just put in the name of the place you want to check or enter your postcode to check the businesses in your local area.

Takeaways Need To Improve

According to our data, more than 1 in every 5 takeaways in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland have a hygiene rating of 3 or lower and only 55% scored a 5. In contrast, 81% of hotels received a 5 star rating, and 95% scored 4 and above.

Furthermore, the number of takeaways that require "major" or "urgent" improvement (a rating of one or lower), stands out as a problem area. Almost 3% of takeaways and sandwich shops across England, Northern Ireland, and Wales fall into this bracket.

These findings are not a surprise to Eilidh.

These results certainly fit with my experience. Takeaways, on average, tend to have a lower rating for a large number of reasons, but mainly it is down to much a larger number of orders per day than say, a B&B would. It’s fast food, so the customer expects to get it quickly, leaving less time for staff to focus on cleaning and paperwork.

Eilidh Paton
Owner of Alba Food Safety Consultancy

Whilst it’s still optional, however, it’s even more important to check individual food hygiene ratings using the Food Standards Agency’s information or by downloading the Scores on the Doors app on your mobile. Just put in the name of the place you want to check or enter your postcode to check the businesses in your local area.

A Good Food Hygiene Rating Doesn’t Guarantee Good Food

Although the FHRS gives a good indication of cleanliness and safety, it does not cover factors such as the quality of food and skill of the chef making it. Surprisingly, the FSA awarded 83% of chain restaurants a top score of 5 compared to only 55% of Michelin star restaurants.

This is likely because the scheme actually lends itself more towards chain food outlets, as they don’t have a constant supply of fresh food entering the premises and have less flexible menus. Therefore, it’s easier to maintain the same standards of food handling, storage and preparation which can give a high food hygiene rating, even if the taste, presentation and customer service is not as good.

Food Hygiene Standards Are Not The Same Everywhere

Our report reveals the places where you can dine in confidence, and areas where it may be wise to check Food Hygiene ratings before eating out. If you’re in Southport, for example, you can assume an establishment will have a high standard of food hygiene as, on average, the Merseyside town is just shy of the highest possible rating at an average of 4.91. The risk of standards slipping is higher for those in Bolton, however, as their average ratings are the lowest in the UK at 3.97.

Northern Ireland has the highest average food hygiene rating in the UK, at an impressive 4.69, increasing from 4.59 in 2019. Furthermore, no region in Northern Ireland has a lower average rating than 4.5. This could be due to Ireland having to display Food Hygiene rating stickers at all food premises, whereas this is still optional in England. Perhaps if it were a legal requirement in England too, the difference between the two countries' ratings may decrease.

A scientific review published by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has estimated that around 2.4 million cases of foodborne illness occur every year in the UK. Furthermore, eating out accounts for an estimated 37% of all foodborne norovirus cases. The dangers posed by businesses operating unhygienically are clear. It’s always best to double check a rating if you are unsure.

Only ⅓ of the Rating is Based on the Hygienic Handling of Food

There are three individual components that make up a food hygiene rating. Two thirds of the rating consider the building’s physical attributes and food safety management systems in place. We found that 2% of businesses in the UK have a rating of 2 or lower, suggesting that they required improvement. Not all of these concern the physical handling of food, however. For example issues such as peeling paint in the premises can affect the business’s overall ratings.

If your favourite restaurant scores less than a five, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are preparing your food unhygienically. This is why it’s important to do your research; if you look up an establishment on the Food Standards Agency’s website, you can see how well it scored in each of the three areas. This can give you a better idea of the factors behind the rating, so you can be more confident eating somewhere that hasn’t scored a five.