Food Hygiene and Pest Control

The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is a national scheme which informs the public about the hygiene standards of food premises by allocating a score of 0 to 5.

All businesses that sell food directly to the public such as cafes, restaurants and takeaways will be inspected by a food safety officer from the local authority. The main driver of the scheme is to drive food standards up by the public making informed decisions as to where they purchase their food.  This inspection will look at 3 major criteria that make up the total score, these are:

Hygienic Food Handling

Hygienic handling of food including preparation, cooking, reheating, cooling and storage.

Cleanliness and condition of facilities and building

Cleanliness of conditions of facilities and building (including having appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and Pest Control) to enable good food hygiene.

Management of Food Safety

System or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in the future.

Having a pest management system in place that delivers regular detailed inspections, pest monitoring and record keeping shows the business recognises the risks that pests pose to food hygiene. Also any food business that is accused of a breach of food regulations can rely on the defence of Due Diligence. This is that the business took all reasonably practicable steps to avoid the breach.