Food Hygiene Rating Scheme

• What is the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme?
• How it works
• The different ratings
• Further information

To help you choose where to eat out or shop for food Haringey Council is running the national Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. The scheme will give you information about the hygiene standards in restaurants, pubs, cafés, takeaways, hotels, and other places you eat out, as well as supermarkets and other food shops.

What is the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme?

The scheme is being run by Haringey Council in partnership with the Food Standards Agency (the central Government Department with responsibility for food safety). It will help you choose where to eat out or shop for food by giving you information about the hygiene standards in food premises at the time they are inspected by one of our food safety officers.

Why is the scheme important?

Telling consumers about hygiene standards in food outlets gives them greater choice. It also recognises those businesses with the highest standards and encourages others to improve. The overall aim is to reduce the number of cases of food poisoning which currently affects about one million people in the UK every year.

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How it works

Which businesses are given a rating?

Restaurants, takeaways, cafés, sandwich shops, pubs, hotels, supermarkets and other retail food outlets, as well as other businesses where consumers can eat or buy food, will be given a hygiene rating as part of the scheme.

How is the rating calculated?

Each business is given a rating following an inspection by the Council’s Food Safety Officer. The food hygiene rating score given to a business reflects the standards of food hygiene found at the business at the time of inspection or visit by the Council. The food hygiene rating is not a guide to food quality and is based on the criteria listed below

• How hygienically the food is handled - safe food preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage
• The condition of the structure of the premises – cleanliness, repair, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities
• How food safety is managed, recorded and documented - using a number of systems such as Safer Food, Better Business FSA (external link) or Safe Catering FSA (external link)

The rating reflects the conditions found at the time of the last inspection and does not reflect the quality of food or the standards of service the business provides.

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The different ratings

A business is given one of these six ratings:

All businesses should be able to achieve the top rating of 5.

Where a business does not achieve the top rating, the food safety officer will explain to the person that owns or manages the business what improvements are needed.

Business owners and managers can find out more about what they need to do to achieve the highest rating by visiting our Food Hygiene Rating for Businesses Page

You can look up food hygiene ratings on the Food Standard Agency's website - Eating out? Getting food in? (external link).

To request a Re-visit of the Premises, please complete the form  Food Hygiene Rating Scheme: Request for re-visit (PDF, 98KB)

 There are also a number of food hygiene rating apps available for your mobile. Just visit your app store to find out more.

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Businesses are also given a window sticker and certificate showing their rating and are encouraged to display these at their premises in places where you can easily see them when you visit. Display is voluntary at the moment.

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Further information

You can read the Food Standard Agency's frequently asked questions (external link).

For general enquiries, please use our web form:

Make a general enquiry

Or write to us at:

• Commercial Environmental Health
  Environment and Neighbourhoods
  Level 4 - Alexandra House
  10 Station Road 
  Wood Green
  N22 7TR 

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Quick links

• Food safety
• Pollution control
• A- Z of licences
• Planning rules enforcement