Food Hygiene Ratings

What does the Food Hygiene Rating mean?

When food businesses are inspected by Local Authority officers they already score food businesses levels of compliance against three criteria for the purposes of determining the frequency of inspection. These criteria are defined in Annex 5 of the Food Law Code of Practice (Wales) and are:

• The level of (current) compliance with food hygiene and safety procedures (including food handling practices and procedures, and temperature control),
• The level of (current) compliance with structural requirements (including cleanliness, layout, condition of structure, lighting, ventilation, facilities etc.)
• The confidence in management/control procedures.

Each element is numerically scored against the relevant criteria on the basis of guidance given in the Code. The lower the score received, the higher the level of compliance noted.

These numerical scores are then 'mapped' to the relevant tier of the food hygiene rating Scheme. This is illustrated below.