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Scores on the Doors

Food Hygiene Rating Scheme
Scores on the Doors is the No. 1 national food hygiene rating scheme where you can find the official local authority hygiene ratings for food businesses - now the largest in the world!

Find out how hygienic and well-managed the food preparation are at any of the premises listed, such as your favourite take-aways, clubs, pubs and restaurants.

The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme was set up to promote improved business standards and empower consumer choice by making available information on the Scores on the Doors service to which the public has a right to access under Freedom of Information and Environment Information Regulation Legislation.

Their aim is to promote higher standards through:
• Promoting Food Safety and empower consumer choice by making available information to which the public has a right to access.
• Promoting improved business standards through informed consumer choice by making available information to which the public has a right to access.
• A Best Value method for any Local Authorities to meet their public access obligations under current and future legislation.
• A visible, cost effective and well-publicised means of encouragement for improved standards amongst businesses.

In the UK, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 came into force on 1 January 2005. Apart from exemptions relating to Public Security, Privacy of the Individual, etc, the general principle is to give citizens the right to access information held by Public Authorities unless this can be shown not to be in the public interest.
Similar legislation has existed in the United States and Canada for over 10 years and many authorities there have been able to encourage improvements in such as Food Safety standards by making the results of Inspection available on the Internet. For example New York - http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/rii/index.html.

Together with new EEC policies relating to greater transparency, the above factors have motivated the creation of this service to enable Local Authorities to make its information easily available for scrutiny.
For Food Hygiene all inspections are carried out in accordance with the Food Safety Act, the European Communities Act and their regulations, and the Food Standards Agency's Code of Practice and Guidance. Food premises may only be inspected every 6 - 36 months as specified in the Food Standards Agency's Code of Practice. The hygiene rating given to premises is based on the latest Primary Inspection carried out and as such represents the situation as found by the officer on the day of that inspection. Therefore the score may not be representative of the overall, long-term food hygiene standards of the business and should not be relied upon as a guide to food safety or food quality.

FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY http://ratings.food.gov.uk/