Food Hygiene Rating Scheme

What is Food Hygiene Rating Scheme?

Ipswich Borough Council runs the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme in partnership with the Food Standards Agency

The scheme has been set up to help you choose where to eat out or shop for food, by giving you information about the hygiene standards in restaurants, pubs, cafés, takeaways, hotels and other places you eat, as well as supermarkets and other food shops.

When you eat out or shop for food, look out for a sticker in the window or on the door, or a certificate on display, showing the hygiene rating and date of last inspection. Although businesses are not required to show their rating, they are encouraged to display them in a place where they can easily be seen. If you don't see the rating at a takeaway or other food business, you can ask a member of staff if the business is in the scheme and what rating was given at the last inspection. Alternatively, you can search for the rating on the Food Standards Agency website.

About the ratings

Ratings are given to places where you can eat out or shop for food, such as:

Restaurants
Takeaways
Cafés
Sandwich shops
Pubs
Hotels
Schools
Hospitals
Residential care homes
Supermarkets
Bakeries
Delicatessens.

How the ratings are set

A Food Safety Officer from Ipswich Borough Council will inspect a business to check that it meets the requirements of food hygiene law.

A new rating is given each time the business is inspected and how often inspections take place depends on the risk to people's health. The greater the risk, the more often the business will be inspected.

If a business owner or manager makes improvements to hygiene standards, they can request an additional visit in advance of the next planned inspection. This means these improvements can be checked and a new rating could be given sooner.

At the inspection, the officer will check:

how hygienically the food is handled, for example how it is prepared, cooked, re-heated, cooled and stored;
the condition of the structure of the buildings, such as the cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities;
how the business manages and records what it does to make sure food is safe.

The hygiene standards found during the inspection are then rated on a scale from 0 to 5:

0: Urgent improvement required.
5: Very good hygiene standards.

What the rating means

The rating shows how well the business is doing overall. The business may do better in some areas and less well in others and the rating takes this into account. This includes those areas that need improving the most.

The officer will explain to the person who owns or manages the business what improvements need to be made and what action they can take to improve their hygiene rating.

Any businesses given ratings of '0' or '1' must make urgent or major improvements to hygiene standards. The Food Safety Officer will use a number of enforcement tools as well as giving advice and guidance to make sure these improvements are made.

If the officer finds that a business's hygiene standards are very poor and there is an imminent risk to health - this means food is not safe to eat - the officer must take action to make sure that consumers are protected. This could mean prohibiting part of an operation or closing the business down.

Awaiting inspection

If a new business has been set up, or there is a new owner, it will not have a food hygiene rating straight away. However, it may display a sticker or certificate that says 'Awaiting Inspection'. A rating will be given as soon as a Food Safety Officer has inspected the business.

Exemptions

Not all businesses receive a rating, as some are considered low risk to public health and are therefore 'exempt'. Examples include:

Low-Risk Businesses

Such as newsagents, chemists, or visitor centers selling packaged foods like tins of biscuits.
Home-Based Care Services

Such as childminders and businesses offering care services at home.

Finding out more and sharing your views

If you want to know more detailed information than just the rating that has been awarded, you should make a Freedom of Information request to see the Food Safety Officer's inspection report, using the contact details on this page.

If you are worried about a rating that has been given to an Ipswich venue you should let us know immediately.

Information for Businesses

If you are the owner of a business and you think that you have been given an unfair or wrong rating you should first talk to the Food Safety Officer who inspected your business about why the particular rating was given.

If you still believe that the rating is unfair or wrong, there are a number of different options available to you:

Rating appeals

You can submit an appeal by downloading and completing the appeals form. Return the form to the address provided within 21 days of receiving your rating (including weekends and public holidays).

Download Rating Appeals Form (PDF)
Right to reply

The business owner or manager can submit a 'right to reply' form, which is different from an appeal. This form allows you to explain how the business has improved its hygiene or to clarify any unusual circumstances during the inspection. Your 'right to reply' will be published online with your hygiene rating.

Download Right to Reply Form (PDF)
Request another inspection

As the food business operator, you can request a re-rating inspection if you have addressed the issues identified in the initial inspection. You must provide details of the improvements made, along with supporting evidence where appropriate. The cost for each re-rating inspection is £120. If sufficient evidence is provided, an unannounced inspection will be conducted within three months of your request. The new hygiene rating will be based on the level of compliance found during this re-rating inspection.

Please note, your rating could increase, decrease, or remain the same.

How to request another inspection

To request and pay for another inspection, complete the re-rating inspection request form below.

Note: The button below opens in a new window.

Request re-rating inspection