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Food hygiene and business inspections

The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme helps you choose safe places to eat or buy food by showing the hygiene standards found during official inspections.

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Food hygiene rating appeals

The food hygiene rating scheme includes several safeguards to make sure businesses are treated fairly. These include the right to appeal a rating, the option to submit a right‑to‑reply statement, and the ability to request a revisit once improvements have been made.

Requesting a revisit

As a food business operator, you can ask for a revisit to obtain a new rating if you have fixed the issues identified during the inspection. You may request one revisit after each scheduled inspection, at any time, as long as the required improvements have been made.

When submitting your request, you must:

  • explain what improvements you have made
  • provide evidence to support this information

If the council agrees that enough improvements have been made, and the three‑month standstill period has passed since the last inspection, an unannounced revisit will be arranged. This revisit will take place within three months of the end of the standstill period, or within three months of your request if it is made later. In some cases, where only structural repairs or equipment upgrades were required, the council may carry out the revisit sooner.

During the revisit, the inspector will assess the current hygiene standards and give you a new rating, which may increase, decrease or stay the same.

You can submit a revisit request using the online form.