The three scores behind a food hygiene rating, explained
Every rating comes from three areas the inspector scores: how food is handled, the condition of the premises, and confidence in management. The overall rating reflects the weakest of the three, which is why a clean kitchen can still score low.
Why one number hides three judgements
A food hygiene rating looks like a single score, but it is assembled from three separate assessments made during the inspection. Crucially, the overall rating is driven by the worst of the three, not an average. That is the rule that explains almost every surprising rating: a spotless dining room counts for nothing if one of the three areas was seriously wrong.
Source: Food Standards Agency, “How food hygiene ratings work”
1. Hygienic food handling
This covers how food is actually prepared, cooked, cooled, stored and reheated: temperature control, avoiding cross-contamination between raw and ready-to-eat food, and safe handling throughout. It is the area closest to what most people picture when they think "food hygiene", and a failure here is the most direct risk.
2. Cleanliness and condition of the premises
This is the building and its equipment: cleanliness, layout, ventilation, lighting, pest control, and whether the structure makes good hygiene possible in the first place. A kitchen that is hard to clean, or where pests can get in, scores badly here even if today's food handling looked fine.
3. Confidence in management
The one people least expect, and often the one that pulls a rating down. This is the inspector's confidence that the business understands food safety and will keep standards up after they leave: records, training, and a credible food-safety management system. A business can have a clean kitchen on the day and still score poorly here if it cannot show how it stays that way. This is why a low rating does not always mean visible dirt.
Source: Food Standards Agency, “How food hygiene ratings work”
Seeing the breakdown
Because the overall number hides which area failed, the breakdown is the useful part. On every venue page here we show all three areas separately, in the Food Standards Agency's own wording, so you can tell a paperwork problem from a food-handling one, they are very different things to a diner.
Common questions
What three things do food hygiene inspectors check?
Hygienic food handling; the cleanliness and condition of the premises; and confidence in the business's management of food safety. The overall rating reflects the weakest of the three.
Why is the rating based on the worst score?
Because a serious failure in any one area is a real risk, regardless of how good the others are. Averaging would let a business hide a bad problem behind two good areas, so the scheme takes the weakest as the overall result.
What is 'confidence in management'?
The inspector's confidence that the business understands food safety and will maintain standards, shown through records, training and a food-safety management system. A clean kitchen can still score low here if the business cannot demonstrate how it stays clean.
Check a specific place
Every food business in the UK has a published rating. Look up a restaurant, takeaway, pub or shop by name, or browse every council area.
More guides
- What does a 0 food hygiene rating mean?
- Does a low hygiene rating mean the food is unsafe?
- Does a business have to display its hygiene rating?
- How often are food businesses inspected?
- What is a good food hygiene rating?
- How to check a restaurant's food hygiene rating
- Scotland's food hygiene scheme: what a Pass means
- A place has a low hygiene rating: what can you do?
- What does 'awaiting inspection' mean on a food hygiene rating?
Ratings and the rules described here come from the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland, published under the Open Government Licence. This is general information, not legal advice, the official record for any business is held by the FSA and its local council.