How to prepare for a food hygiene inspection

Most food businesses only find out about an inspection when the officer walks through the door. There is no week of warning to catch up on paperwork, which is exactly the point: the inspector wants to see how the shop runs on an ordinary day. The good news is that an ordinary day done well is all it takes.

What the inspector looks at

Under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, your rating from 0 to 5 is based on three things:

• How food is handled: how it is prepared, cooked, cooled, reheated and stored, and whether raw and ready-to-eat food are kept apart.
• The condition of the premises: cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation, repair, handwashing facilities and pest control.
• How you manage food safety: whether you have a written system (such as Safer Food, Better Business or your own HACCP-based plan), whether you follow it, and whether you can show it with records.

The third point is where many small cafés lose marks. The kitchen can be spotless, but if the officer asks to see last week’s fridge temperatures and nobody can find them, it counts against you. Scotland runs a separate scheme, the Food Hygiene Information Scheme, with a “Pass” or “Improvement Required” result, but inspectors there look at much the same things.

Records to have ready

Keep these together, current and easy to reach, whether that’s a folder behind the counter or an app:

• Your food safety management system, reviewed recently and matching what you actually do
• Daily opening and closing checks, signed off by the person who did them
• Fridge, freezer and any hot-holding or cooking temperature records
• Your cleaning schedule and evidence it has been followed
• Training records for each member of staff, including new starters
• Up-to-date allergen information for every dish and drink
• A list of suppliers, and how you check deliveries when they arrive
• Pest control visit reports, if you use a contractor

Records with an occasional problem written in them, and what you did about it, are more convincing than pages of identical ticks. An inspector knows fridges sometimes run warm. What they want to see is that someone noticed and acted.

Five checks you can do this week

• Handwash basins: hot and cold water, soap and paper towels, and nothing stacked in the sink.
• Fridges: food covered, labelled and dated, raw food below ready-to-eat food, nothing past its use-by date.
• Cleaning products: check the disinfectant label shows BS EN 1276 or BS EN 13697, and that staff know the dilution and contact time.
• Hidden corners: behind and under equipment, door seals, the tops of fridges. These are where an inspector’s torch goes first.
• Ask a new starter: where the allergen information is, what to do if a fridge reads too high and how to clean a chopping board. If they can’t answer, that’s your training gap.

On the day

Be welcoming, give the officer your full attention and walk round with them if you can. Answer honestly, show records when asked and take notes on anything they point out. If something can be put right on the spot, such as restocking soap, do it. Ask questions: inspectors are usually happy to explain what good looks like, and that advice is free.

After the inspection

You’ll get your rating and a letter or report listing anything that needs to improve. Deal with the items in order of risk and keep a note of what you did and when. If you disagree with the rating or have made improvements, the FSA describes three safeguards:

• Appeal, in writing, if you think the rating is unfair. There is a short deadline, usually 21 days, so act quickly.
• Right to reply, a short statement published alongside your rating explaining what you have done since.
• Request a re-rating visit once the improvements are made. Your council will explain how to apply and any fee.

Displaying your rating sticker is a legal requirement in Wales and Northern Ireland. In England it is voluntary but encouraged, and customers can look up any business’s rating online either way.

How Unpickle helps

Unpickle doesn’t replace your food safety plan, but it makes the evidence for it build up as part of the day. Opening and closing checks, fridge checks and cleaning jobs appear on staff phones or the shop tablet when they’re due, with a record of who did each one and when. You can require a photo on the jobs that matter most, such as a picture of the fridge display, and anything not done shows as missed rather than being filled in later. Deliveries are checked line by line, and your allergen chart and procedures sit in the house knowledge base where every member of staff can find them.

Start with the opening and closing checklist guide, the fridge temperature log guide and the cleaning schedule guide, then see how digital checklists keep the record for you.

Try it free for 30 days, no card required.