Food Hygiene Rating Scheme
Find out if a restaurant, takeaway or food shop has good food hygiene standards with the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme.
How does the scheme work?
The scheme is run in partnership with the Food Standards Agency.
When an inspector visits a food business it is given a hygiene rating. This rating shows how closely the business is meeting the requirements of food hygiene law.
The inspector will consider:
- 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 sure food is safe
At the end of the inspection, the business is given one of the six ratings. The top rating of 5 means that the business was found to have very good hygiene standards. Any business should be able to reach this top rating.
The inspector will explain to the person who owns or manages the business what improvements are needed and how they can achieve the top rating of 5.
Details on how the rating is calculated can be downloaded below.
How to find out the rating of a food business
Food hygiene rating stickers
Following their inspection, businesses are given a sticker and a certificate confirming their rating.
Businesses are encouraged to display these stickers and certificates at their premises in a place where you can easily see them when you visit.
What the ratings mean
| Food hygiene rating | What the rating means |
|---|
| 5 | Very good |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Generally satisfactory |
| 2 | Improvement necessary |
| 1 | Major improvement necessary |
| 0 | Urgent improvement necessary |
Find food hygiene ratings online
Food ratings for businesses are available online:
- Use our My Wycombe* service to focus on a specified address and find food ratings for businesses near you.
- Search for food businesses in Wycombe district using the Food Standards Agency website (link at the bottom of this page)
* New users please choose an address to centre the map where you like. Existing users can click on your 'current location' to centre the map there.
Safeguards for food businesses
The scheme incorporates a number of safeguards to protect your business. Information on these can be downloaded below.
If you own a food business and believe that the rating you have been given is unjust or unfair, there are three options you can choose from.
- Make an appeal: you can make an appeal within 14 days of receiving your rating by completing the appeals form below and returning it as shown. Verbal appeals cannot be considered.
- Right to reply: If you would like to give an explanation of the actions you have taken following the inspection or provide information to mitigate the findings of the inspection, you have a "right to reply". You can make these comments in writing by completing the form below. The text may be edited to remove any offensive, defamatory, clearly inaccurate or irrelevant remarks.
- Re-inspection: If you have rectified all the non-compliances identified at your initial inspection, you can request a re-inspection of your business. Such requests must be made by completing the form below.
Should you exhaust these avenues and still not be satisfied with the outcome you can use our complaints procedure, details of which can be found on our complaints and compliments page.
More information on food safety.
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