Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS)

The National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) was launched in Wiltshire on 1 April 2012. Customers are now better informed when eating out in Wiltshire.

The national scheme developed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in partnership with local authorities provides information on food hygiene standards to help customers choose where to eat out or shop.

Food hygiene ratings are determined at routine inspections by food safety officers. The hygiene standards found at these inspections are rated on a scale ranging from zero at the bottom (which means 'urgent improvement necessary') to a top rating of five ('very good').

These ratings are available for anyone to view on the Food Standards Agency: Food hygiene ratings (opens new window) website.

Following an inspection, food businesses are provided with a sticker showing their rating. There are no legal requirements to display the sticker at the entrance to the premises, but businesses are encouraged to do so as this will mean customers can easily see them and decide where to eat.

Food hygiene ratings are determined during routine inspections by officers from Wiltshire Council's Public Protection Services. Ratings range from zero ('Urgent improvement necessary') to five ('Very good') and allow members of the public to make informed decisions about where they eat out or shop for food, thus encouraging businesses to improve their hygiene standards where necessary.

The following guidance explains how the ratings are calculated and gives information on those safeguards in place to ensure fairness to businesses.

Inspecting officers use a Food Standards Agency scoring scheme to rate businesses dependent upon their degree of compliance with hygiene legislation. There are three elements to this score, relating to:

• food hygiene procedures (see table 1)
• structure and cleanliness (see table 1)
• confidence in management (see table 2)

The scores for these three elements are explained in the tables.

Level of compliance for food hygiene (including food handling practices, procedures and temperature control); and structure (including cleanliness, layout, condition of structure, lighting, ventilation, facilities etc) of the premises. These are  scored separately and these scores are combined with the Confidence in Management score in Table 2 to give an overall score,  which is converted to a Rating - see Table 3.

Confidence in management/control procedures (including the 'track record' of the company, management attitude towards hygiene and food safety, hygiene and food safety technical knowledge and documented procedures based on HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control points) principles).

For example, a premises scoring 10 for hygiene compliance, 15 for structural compliance and 10 for confidence in management/control procedures, has a total score of 35. The score of 35 is then used to obtain the food hygiene rating score for the food business, using the table below:

In this example, a score of 35 falls into the fourth tier meaning the food business would be awarded a food hygiene rating of 2 ("Improvement necessary").

A premises with a high levels of compliance might score 0 for hygiene, 0 for structure and 0 for confidence in management - a total of 0 which would equate (using the table above) to a food hygiene rating of 5 ("Very good").

Essentially, the lower the total compliance score for hygiene + structure + confidence in management, the higher the food hygiene rating score.

At the end of the inspection, the officer will tell the food business operator their hygiene rating and explain why the establishment was rated as it was. If there is any disagreement with the score given, the food business operator should initially discuss the matter with the inspecting officer. If an agreement cannot be reached, the food business operator has a right of appeal (see below) and this will delay publication of the rating until the appeal is determined.

Otherwise, the inspecting officer will issue a window sticker to display in a prominent position on the premises. The rating will also be published on the Food Standards Agency: Food hygiene ratings (opens new window) website.

New food businesses that are awaiting inspection will appear as 'awaiting inspection' until such time that they receive a food hygiene inspection and their rating is determined.

Following an inspection there is a 21 day period during which food business operators can appeal to Wiltshire Council's Public Protection Manager for food and safety if they feel that the inspecting officer has awarded them a rating which they feel is unjust, i.e. they feel that the rating does not reflect the hygiene standards and management controls found at the establishment at the time of the inspection.

The Public Protection Manager for food and safety, or a nominated deputy, will respond to the appeal within 21 days. No food hygiene rating will be displayed at the establishment until the appeal has been determined.

For businesses in England and Wales, the business owner or manager can request that a rating is published before the end of the appeal period. This request must be made in writing to your local authority.  You must include:

• details of who you are
• the name and address of the business
• your contact information
• the date of the inspection
• the rating given

The local authority will review the request and will usually publish the rating early.

Further information can be found on Food hygiene ratings for businesses (opens new window).

If you, as the  food business operator, have made improvements to hygiene standards that were highlighted in your  inspection report, you may request a re-rating visit with a view to securing a new and higher food hygiene rating. 

A re-rating visit is an unannounced food hygiene inspection considering all aspects of the food business. This will include, but not be limited to the matters raised during previous inspections. This means that the rating could go up, down or remain the same.

A re-rating visit is not the same as a planned revisit. A revisit is conducted following a food hygiene inspection for the sole purpose of ensuring the issues raised during the initial inspection have been resolved. A business will not receive a food hygiene rating following a revisit. We will not approve a re-rating application while there are ongoing revisits.   

Re-rating visits can only be conducted following a formal application which has been assessed and agreed. Wiltshire Council charges for such visits to cover the cost of this additional work. This fee is currently £230.00 in 2024/25.

This charge will not be levied until a re-rating visit has been approved. Re-rating requests will only be approved if the evidence supplied with the application demonstrates the business has made significant sustained improvements. 

Applications may be rejected if insufficient supporting evidence is provided.

Once a re-rating visit has been approved applicants will be notified and instructed on how to pay.

• re-rating revisits will be carried out within 3 months of receipt of payment
• payment must be made within 14 days of payment being requested. If payment is not made within 14 days, then the application will be rejected
• it can take 28 days for a new food hygiene rating score to be updated on the Food Standards Agency food hygiene rating website

Whilst there is no limit to the number of re-rating requests you can make in between planned routine inspections, Wiltshire Council will use its discretion in determining each application. In general these will be limited to the one chargeable re-rating visit in each inspection cycle.

When applying for a re-rating visit food business operators must evidence the improvements made since the initial inspection and/or revisit and not just those matters raised during the inspection. Please consider all the points raised by the inspecting officer as well as any other improvements carried out.  This is an opportunity for you to set out in detail all the efforts made to move the business towards a 5 rating.

You must provide evidence with your application of all the improvements made. Examples of the type of evidence we hope to see include:

• photographs of structural improvements
• copies of invoices for repairs, new equipment, etc.
• copies of training records
• details of alterations to your HACCP systems etc.
• copies of USB diary entries for controls applied
• copies of new pest control contracts

The evidence will be considered as a part of your request.  A re-rating application maybe refused if there is insufficient supporting evidence demonstrating the business has made significant sustained improvements.  It is important that your evidence clearly shows how you have worked to achieve a better rating.

To make a request for a re-rating visit, complete the application form on this page, ensuring you understand the terms and conditions. Do not send payment with your application.

The inspecting officer may contact you before the visit to discuss your evidence and any other priority actions you may need to take to improve your score.

Food business operators have a 'right to reply' which will be published on the website with their score. The purpose is to enable the food business operator to give an explanation of subsequent actions that have been taken to rectify non-compliances or mitigation for the circumstances at the time of the inspection, rather than to complain or criticise the scheme or inspecting officer.

The right to reply should be sent to publicprotectionwest@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window). The text may be edited before being published on the website in order to remove any offensive, defamatory, clearly inaccurate or irrelevant remarks.

Further guidance on appealing, requesting a re-visit and the right to reply can be found on Food hygiene ratings for businesses (opens new window).

The following are some suggestions of things your business can consider:

For food handling

You can maximise your rating by showing, for example, that:

• there are high standards of personal hygiene of staff - e.g. clean over-clothing (such as aprons),appropriate headwear, minimal jewellery and regular and appropriate hand-washing
• control measures are in place to prevent cross contamination (e.g. use of separate areas for handling raw and cooked foods, proper use of colour-coded chopping boards, and correct use of appropriate cleaning chemicals)
• foods are stored at the correct temperature (e.g. food stored in refrigerators is maintained at less than 8°C and that the chill chain is protected)
• foods are properly cooked, re-heated and cooled (e.g. foods are cooked to 75°C or hotter and are checked visually and with a probe thermometer  for thorough cooking, and foods are cooled quickly and as necessary refrigerated

For the condition and structure of your premises

There should, for example, be:

• a suitable structure which is clean and in good repair throughout the premises
• clean food equipment which is kept in good repair
• adequate natural/artificial lighting
• adequate natural/artificial ventilation
• a structure proofed against pest entry

For managing and documenting what the business does

It is a legal requirement for food businesses to provide documentary evidence that the food they produce is safe. This should:

• identify and show an understanding of the food safety hazards (microbiological, physical and chemical) within the business 
• provide evidence that measures have been taken to effectively control these hazards and that these measures are reviewed as appropriate
• provide evidence of the routine check systems you have in place in your business
• provide evidence that all food handlers are supervised and instructed and/or trained in food hygiene matters in order that they produce food that is safe to eat

The Food Standards Agency has produced systems to help create a documented food safety management system:

• Safer Food, Better Business (England and Wales)
• Safe Catering (Northern Ireland)
• CookSafe (Scotland)

These are suitable for many types of food business, but not all. You are advised to discuss which food safety management system is suitable for your business with one of our Food Safety Officers in the Public Protection Team.

Improving your rating

All businesses should be able to achieve the top rating. To get the best possible rating, you should:

• look at your last food hygiene inspection report to check that you've taken all of the actions needed to ensure that you meet legal requirements. If you can't find your last report, contact us and we will be able to give you a copy
• at your next inspection, if you don't get the top rating and you have queries about the improvements you need to make to get a better rating, then the Food Safety Officer will be able to give you advice
• find out more about Food Standards Agency: Safer food, better business for caterers (opens new window) and other guidance to help you manage hygiene at your business

Appeals, requests for revisits and right to reply forms should be sent to:

Public Protection Manager (Food and Safety)
Wiltshire Council
County Hall
Bythesea Road
Trowbridge
BA14 8JN

Email: publicprotectionwest@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window)