Frequently asked questions

A food hygiene rating tells you how well a food business met food hygiene law when it was last inspected by the local council. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) gives a rating from 5 (Very Good) down to 0 (Urgent Improvement Necessary). In Scotland the Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS) shows Pass or Improvement Required instead of a number. It reflects hygiene standards on the day of the inspection, not the quality of the food.

We refresh from the Food Standards Agency open data every day. The FSA publishes an updated file for each local authority daily, and we ingest any that have changed. There can be a short lag between a council publishing a new inspection and it appearing here, but in normal operation the site is no more than a day or so behind the official source.

Ratings are owned by the local authority that carried out the inspection, not by HygieneCheck, so factual corrections must go through your council. Find the business on this site, open its page, and use the local authority contact details listed there or on the area page. We will reflect the change automatically once the council updates its data. See our Correct a listing page for step-by-step guidance.

FHRS (the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme) operates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and gives a number from 0 to 5. FHIS (the Food Hygiene Information Scheme) operates in Scotland and gives Pass or Improvement Required rather than a number. The two schemes are not directly comparable, so we never average a Scottish result into a 0 to 5 figure.

The ratings shown here come directly from the Food Standards Agency open data and are the official FHRS and FHIS results. However, HygieneCheck itself is an independent website and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the FSA or any government body. For the authoritative record you can also check ratings.food.gov.uk.

The ratings are produced by qualified environmental health officers employed by local councils, working to the FSA's national standard, and we present them without alteration. We always show the inspection date so you can see how recent a rating is. A rating is a snapshot of standards on the day of inspection and conditions can change between inspections, so treat it as a strong indicator rather than a live guarantee.

A rating of 0 means Urgent Improvement Necessary: at the last inspection the business fell well short of the standards expected, and the council will normally require improvements and may re-inspect. It does not necessarily mean the business is unsafe today, and businesses often improve at the next inspection. Always check the inspection date, and remember the rating reflects that visit only.

No. A food hygiene rating is about hygiene standards, food safety management and the condition of the premises, not the taste, price or quality of the food. A 5-rated business is not a recommendation of the cooking, only of how hygienically the business was being run when it was inspected.