Food Hygiene Rating Scheme - Business Information

Charnwood Borough Council will be launching the new Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) on 9^thFebruary 2011. The new scheme will replace the existing "scores on the doors". All food businesses included within the scope of the scheme will receive their certificates and stickers, by post, in February. We strongly urge all businesses to display their certificates and/or window stickers for the public to see.

Downloads

Frequently Asked Questions (Word Document, 0.1 Mb)

Overview of Scheme in Flow Diagram (Word Document, 0.49 Mb)

FHRS Notes for Businesss (Word Document, 0.26 Mb)

FHRS Checklist (Word Document, 0.1 Mb)

Overview of the Scheme

The scheme is a Food Standards Agency/local authority partnership initiative to provide consumers with at-a-glance information about hygiene standards in food businesses found during planned inspections. The aim is to help the public make informed choices about where they eat out or shop for food. Having a single scheme in place will help ensure consistency for businesses both within and across local authority boundaries. The ratings will be available for anyone to view on the FSA website at www.food.gov.uk/ratings

We will be launching the scheme in February 2011 with our partner local authorities across Leicestershire - Blaby District Council, Hinkley and Bosworth Borough Council, Melton Mowbray Borough Council, North West Leicestershire District Council and Oadby and Wigston Borough Council.

How the Rating Is Worked Out

Food Hygiene Ratings are assessed via routine food premises inspection visits (statutory inspections) which follow the "Food Law Code of Practice (England)"

At the inspection, the Environrmental Health Officer will allocate scores for:

• The level of compliance with food hygiene and safety procedures
• The level of complaince with structural requirements and,
• Confidence in management

These three scores will then enable the officer to rate the hygiene standards on a scale of 0-5. A score of 5 will be the highest level indicating very good standards of food hygiene and a score of 0 will indicate that urgent improvement is necessary.

How to Achieve the Highest Score

In order to achieve the best score possible, you will need to ensure your business meets the high standards in the following 3 areas:

• How hygienically the food is handled - how it is prepared, cooked, re-heated, cooled and stored
• The condition of the structure of the buildings - the cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities
• How the business manages and records what it does to make the food safe (a documented food safety management system based on HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control point)

In order to help you achieve a high rating please use the FHRS guidance checklist below in "downloads". If you are able to answer "yes" to all the points on the checklist and the Environmental Health Officer is able to find evidence of this at inspection, then you should be able to meet a score of 3 " generally satisfactory" or above.

Most businesses require a fully documented food safety management system and need to show that it is being operated effectively. If you do not have a fully documented system, then you may only reach a score of 1 out of a possible 5.

What to Do if You Disagree with Your Hygiene Rating

If you are not happy with the food hygien rating you have been awarded, you should contact the inspecting officer to discuss your concerns. If the issue cannot be resolved at that stage, you also have 3 further options to consider:

• Your right to appeal
• Your right to request a re-visit
• Your "Right to Reply"

Please follow the flow diagram for a schematic version of your options

How to Apply/ Request/ Use the System

Your right to appeal form (Word Document, 0.17 Mb)

Your right to request a re-visit (Word Document, 0.17 Mb)

Your "Right to Reply" (Word Document, 0.16 Mb)

How to Appeal

• Please use the appeal (in "printable forms) and return it to the Lead Officer for Food Safety at Environmental Health - contact details below.
• You have 14 days (including weekends and bank holidays) from the date of receipt of the notification letter to lodge and appeal.
• The Lead Officer for Food will review your rating and communicate the outcome of your appeal top you within seven days

How to Request a Re-Visit

• As the food business operator of the establishment you have a right to request a re-visit for the purposes of re-rating if you have taken action to rectify the non-compliances identified at the time of inspection.
• You can make one request for a re-visit per each planned statutory inspection by Charnwood Borough Council and you can make this at any time after the statutory inspection provided that you have made the required improvements.
• You must provide details of the improvements made with your request, including supporting evidence where appropriate.
• If we consider that you have provided sufficient evidence that the required improvements have been made, and provided that a three month "stand still" period has passed since the statutory inspection, the local authority will make an unannounced visit. This will take place within three months of the end of the three month "stand still" period or within three months of the request if this is made after the "stand still period"(if you were only required to make permanent structural improvements or repairs or to upgrade equipment, the local authority can choose to carry out the requested re-visit sooner than this).
• The Environmental Health Officer will give you a "new" food hygiene rating based on the level of compliance that is found at the time of the re-visit - you should be aware that your rating could go up, down or remian the same.
• To make a request for a revisit, please use the form below and return it to the food safety officer who inspected your premises.

How to Exercise Your "Right to Reply"

• The purpose of the "Right to Reply" is to enable you to give an explanation of subsequent actions that have been taken to make the required improvements as detailed in the inspection letter, or to explain mitigation for the circumstances at the time of inspection. It is not for making complaints or for criticising the scheme or food safety officer.
• If you wish to use this "Right to Reply" please use the printable form and return it to the Environmental Health Officer who undertook your inspection.
• your comments will be reviewed by the Environmental Health Officer and may be edited in order to remove offensive or defamatory remarks before being published online and displayed together with your food hygiene rating at food.gov.uk/ratings
• There will be a statement at food.gov.uk/ratings that will highlight that the accuracy of your comments has not been verifified by local authority officers

If you require a copy of any of the above forms, please contact Environmental Health

External Links

The following link will take you to the FSA website which lists all the food hygiene ratings

food.gov.uk/ratings

Contact Us:

Officer/Team: Commercial Section

Postal address: Charnwood Borough Council, Southfields, Southfields Road, Loughborough Leics LE11 2TX

Email: food.hygiene@charnwood.gov.uk

Tel: 01509 634656

Fax: 01509 232313