A place has a low hygiene rating: what can you do?
If a place has a low rating you are free to eat elsewhere, and if you have a real concern, food that made you ill, or something you saw, the people who can act are the council's environmental health team, not this site and not the business.
The simplest thing: you can just leave
A rating exists so you can make an informed choice before you spend money. If a place has a rating you are not comfortable with, you are entitled to eat somewhere else, and you owe no one an explanation. That is the whole purpose of publishing the score. For a takeaway you will never see inside, it is often the only signal you get.
Reporting a genuine concern
If your concern is specific, you were ill after eating there, or you saw something that worried you, the people to tell are the environmental health team at the local council. They are the ones who inspect food businesses and who can act on what you report. You can find the right council from the venue's page here, or report a food-safety concern through the Food Standards Agency, which routes it to the correct authority.
Source: Food Standards Agency, “How food hygiene ratings work”
What a low rating does not entitle you to
A low rating is information, not a verdict that the business broke the law in a way that affects your order today. It does not, on its own, entitle you to a refund, and the rating cannot be changed by you, by the business, or by us. If you have paid for food that was unsafe or not as described, that is a consumer-rights matter with the business, separate from the hygiene rating.
Who can and cannot change a rating
Only the council that carried out the inspection can change a rating, and only through a re-inspection or a successful appeal by the business. No website, including this one, can alter it; we republish the official data and corrections made at the source flow through to us. If a rating looks flatly wrong, the record is held by the FSA and the council, and that is where a correction has to start.
Common questions
Can I refuse to eat somewhere with a low hygiene rating?
Yes, always. The rating is published so you can decide before you order. You are free to eat elsewhere and need give no reason.
How do I report a restaurant's hygiene?
Contact the environmental health team at the local council, which you can find from the venue's page, or report a concern through the Food Standards Agency, which passes it to the right authority. They are the bodies that can inspect and act.
Can I get a refund because a place has a low rating?
Not because of the rating itself, it is information, not proof anything was wrong with your order. If food was unsafe or not as described, that is a consumer-rights issue to take up with the business directly.
Who can change a food hygiene rating?
Only the council that inspected the business, through a re-inspection or a successful appeal. No website can change a rating; official corrections flow through from the FSA and the council.
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
- The three scores behind a food hygiene rating, explained
- Scotland's food hygiene scheme: what a Pass means
- 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.