What do the food hygiene ratings mean?
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, food businesses are rated from 5 down to 0. The number sums up how well the business met hygiene standards at its last inspection.
How the number is worked out
An inspector scores three things: hygienic food handling, the condition of the premises, and management of food safety.
The scores are penalty points, so 0 is the best and higher is worse. Hygiene and condition each run 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25. Management runs 0, 5, 10, 20 and 30, with no 15 or 25 and a 30 at the bottom that the other two cannot reach. The wording is shared:
| Points | What it means |
|---|---|
| 0 | Very good |
| 5 | Good |
| 10 | Generally satisfactory |
| 15 | Improvement necessary (not management) |
| 20 | Major improvement necessary |
| 25 | Urgent improvement necessary (not management) |
| 30 | Urgent improvement necessary (management only) |
The three are added up. The total sets the rating, and the worst single area caps it:
| Total points | No single area above | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 15 | 5 | 5 Very good |
| 20 | 10 | 4 Good |
| 25 to 30 | 10 | 3 Generally satisfactory |
| 35 to 40 | 15 | 2 Improvement necessary |
| 45 to 50 | 20 | 1 Major improvement necessary |
| Over 50 | — | 0 Urgent improvement necessary |
The FSA gives three worked examples:
| The three scores | Total | Worst area | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5, 5, 5 | 15 | 5 | 5 |
| 0, 5, 10 | 15 | 10 | 4 |
| 5, 5, 20 | 30 | 20 | 1 |
The first two both total 15, but the second is a 4 because one area reached 10. The third totals 30, which on its own would be a 3, and the single score of 20 brings it down to 1.
Scores and wording are from the FSA's Brand Standard, version 8. See how inspections work
Scotland: Pass or Improvement Required
Scotland uses a different scheme, the Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS), which doesn't use 0–5. Instead a business gets one of:
- Pass: the business meets the legal requirements for food hygiene.
- Improvement Required: the business didn't meet the requirements and needs to make improvements.
- Pass and Eat Safe: a Pass plus the Eat Safe Award, which goes to businesses that go beyond the legal minimum.
You can read more on the Food Standards Scotland website.
Common questions
What is a good food hygiene rating?
A rating of 5 means hygiene standards were very good, and a 4 means good. Both are strong results. Ratings of 3 and below indicate that improvements were needed at the last inspection.
Is a 3 rating bad?
A 3 means "generally satisfactory": standards were broadly acceptable but there was room for improvement. It is broadly compliant, though it sits below the top scores of 4 and 5.
Why do some businesses show "Awaiting inspection" or "Exempt"?
"Awaiting inspection" means no inspection has happened yet, which covers a new business and also one that has changed hands or moved. "Exempt" means the premises sells too little food to be rated. Why a business has no rating goes through every case, including what the two words mean in Scotland.
Why does Scotland not use 0 to 5?
Scotland runs a separate scheme, the Food Hygiene Information Scheme, which gives a Pass or Improvement Required result instead of a numeric score.