ACL Essex food hygiene rating
Other catering premises · Tendring
ACL Essex holds a 3: generally satisfactory. The business met the legal standard, but the inspector recorded enough minor issues that it fell short of a good or very good rating.
The rating: 3 - Generally satisfactory
The rating dates from 16 June 2026, 2 months ago. Councils typically re-inspect higher-risk businesses every six months to two years, with well-run, low-risk places visited least often, so this is a normal gap.
This sits in the middle for Tendring, where 4% of rated places score below 3 and 86% score 4 or 5. See all Tendring ratings →
Address: Tendring Adult Community College, St Osyth Road, Clacton on Sea, CO15 3BN
How this rating has changed
ACL Essex was re-inspected on 16 June 2026 and held its rating of 3.
| Inspected | Rating | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 16 June 2026 | 3 3 | Held |
The FSA publishes only a business's current rating. This history is our own record of what it has scored since we began watching.
How it compares in Tendring
In Tendring, 67% of rated places manage a 5, so ACL Essex sits behind roughly 1,023 nearby businesses. 9% of the borough shares its 3.
| 5 out of 5 | 794 | 67% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 out of 5 | 229 | 19% | ||
| 3 out of 5 | 103 | 9% | ← ACL Essex | |
| 2 out of 5 | 28 | 2% | ||
| 1 out of 5 | 22 | 2% | ||
| 0 out of 5 | 3 | <1% |
A further 129 businesses in the area are awaiting inspection or exempt, so are not counted above.
What the inspector found
- Hygienic food handling Generally satisfactory
- Cleanliness & condition of the building Generally satisfactory
- How well they manage food safety Generally satisfactory
An inspection scores three things: how food is handled, the physical condition of the premises, and how much the inspector trusts management to keep standards up. At ACL Essex none of the three raised a concern, the overall rating is only ever as strong as its weakest area, so a clean sweep is what produces a high score.
Questions about ACL Essex
What is ACL Essex's food hygiene rating?
ACL Essex has a food hygiene rating of 3 out of 5 (generally satisfactory), given by Tendring Council on 16 June 2026.
Is ACL Essex safe to eat at?
A 3 means the business met the legal standard, so it is lawful to eat there, but the inspector recorded issues that stopped it scoring higher. It is the middle of the scale.
When was ACL Essex last inspected?
ACL Essex was last inspected on 16 June 2026, 2 months ago. Food hygiene inspections are unannounced, and the rating is published by Tendring Council rather than by the business.
What did the inspector find at ACL Essex?
The inspector scored three areas. Hygienic food handling was rated "generally satisfactory", the cleanliness and condition of the building "generally satisfactory", and confidence in the management of food safety "generally satisfactory". Lower concern in all three is what earns a high overall rating.
How does ACL Essex compare to other places in Tendring?
67% of the 1,179 rated food businesses in Tendring hold the top rating of 5, while ACL Essex holds a 3. 103 places in the area share that rating.
Who decides the rating?
Tendring Council inspects ACL Essex and sets the rating; the Food Standards Agency publishes it. Neither the business nor this site can change a rating, a business that disagrees can appeal to its council, and can request a re-inspection once it has fixed the problems.
Tell me when this changes
The Food Standards Agency publishes only a business's rating today, not what it scored before, and not when it moves. We check every UK rating each night. Watch ACL Essex and we will email you the morning after its rating changes.
Free, for three businesses, forever. No password, we send you a link. How rating alerts work →
Understanding this rating
More food hygiene ratings near here
ACL Essex is one of 511 rated food businesses in Clacton on Sea. See every hygiene rating in Clacton on Sea →
Tendring inspects and rates 1,308 food businesses across its whole area. See every food hygiene rating in Tendring →
The official record is held by the council: http://www.tendringdc.gov.uk/
Rating from the Food Standards Agency under the Open Government Licence. Ratings reflect standards found at the time of inspection and can change. If you think a rating is wrong, the official record is held by the FSA and the local authority; corrections there flow through here. How ratings work →