Food hygiene rating scheme
The Council has now moved to a new scheme for publishing the hygiene standards in local food businesses called the food hygiene rating scheme.
The food hygiene rating scheme is the only national scheme informing the public about the hygiene standards in food premises.
It is hoped that by making the food hygiene score public it will ensure businesses improve and maintain a high standard. Only those food businesses that sell food direct to the public, e.g. shops cafes and restaurants, are included in the scheme. Each business is issued with a window sticker.
Details are available on the Food Hygiene Rating website.
Inspection
At inspection the food safety officer will check how well food businesses are meeting the law on food hygiene. Three areas will be assessed, these are:
- how hygienically the food is handled, how it is prepared, cooked, cooled, stored and what measures are taken to prevent food being contaminated with bacteria
- the condition of the structure of the premises including cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation, equipment and other facilities
- how you manage and record what you do to make sure food is safe using a system like Safer food, better business
Scoring
Businesses will be given a score for each area – see below. Food safety officers use guidance to determine how to score each of these areas.
| Criteria | Score | |||||
| How hygienically the food is handled | 0 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| Condition of structure | 0 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| How you manage and document food safety | 0 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 30 | |
| Total score | 0 | -----------------------> | 80 | |||
| Level of compliance | High | -----------------------> | Low | |||
The food hygiene rating
The rating given depends on how well the business does overall – the total score. It also depends on the area(s) that need improving the most - the business may do better in some areas and less well in others.
To get the top rating, a business must score no more than 5 in each of the three areas. All businesses should be able to get the top rating. A business will automatically get a new rating at each planned inspection.
| Total score | 0 - 15 | 20 | 25 - 30 | 35 - 40 | 45 - 50 | > 50 |
| Highest permitted individual score | 5 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 20 | - |
| Rating | FHR Score 5 | FHR Score 4 | FHR Score 3 | FHR Score 2 | FHR Score 1 | FHR Score 0 |
Appeals procedure
For businesses that disagree with their score there is an appeals procedure in place, please use the following link - Safeguards for food businesses
Further information
For further information, please contact us:
- email: food.safety@doncaster.gov.uk
- address: Doncaster Council, Civic Office, Waterdale, Doncaster, DN1 3BU
- tel: 01302 737573