Food Hygiene Rating Scheme
About the scheme
The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme helps customers choose where to eat out or shop for food by providing information about the hygiene standards.
After an inspection, food businesses will be issued with a rating depending on the food hygiene standards – ‘0’ means urgent improvement is required, ‘5’ means the hygiene standards are very good.
Food hygiene ratings are posted on the Food Standards Agency website and businesses can also choose to display their ratings on the premises for customers to see.
If you have received a score that is lower than 5 at your inspection you may wish to request a re-rating inspection. If you have completed all of the works requested in your inspection report you can apply for a rerating. A rerating inspection does not guarantee that your score will be a 5 and will be based on the officer’s findings at the time of inspection.
There is a fee for rerating which is £210.00, which must be received in full before your application can be accepted.
Notes for applicants:
- Please make sure you put a contact telephone number on your application that we can contact you on.
- Our team will receive your application and contact you by telephone to take payment, please be aware the number may be withheld.Once payment is confirmed you will receive an email confirming your application is being processed to the email address you have provided on your application.
- An officer will be asked to carry out a re-rating inspection of your business
- Thanet District Council will inspect your business within 3 months of payment and completion of your application.
If you have any further queries regarding the re-rating scheme please contact:
environmental.health@thanet.gov.uk
01843 577523
PermalinkBusinesses have a ‘Right to Reply’ to their food hygiene rating by posting comments on the Food Standards Agency website.
This allows you to explain any actions you have taken after your inspection to improve hygiene standards at your premises or to say if there were unusual circumstances at the time of the inspection that might have affected your food hygiene rating. It should not be used for complaints or criticisms of the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme or the food safety officer.
You can submit a right to reply form (pdf) by email to environmental.health@thanet.gov.uk. or by post to the Food Safety Team.
Download the right to reply form here.
Replies are vetted by the council before being published alongside the business’s hygiene rating on the Food Standards Agency website.
PermalinkIf you think a hygiene rating is unfair or wrong, you have 21 days to submit an appeal from the date of notification of your hygiene rating.
You can submit an appeals form (pdf) by email to environmental.health@thanet.gov.uk or by post to the Food Safety Team.
Download the appeals form here.
If you lodge an appeal, your food hygiene rating will be put on hold until a decision is made. You will be notified of the outcome within 14 days and your food hygiene rating will then be published on the Food Standards Agency website.
If your appeal is unsuccessful, you may still be eligible to request a revisit or right to reply.
If you disagree with the outcome of the appeal, you can challenge the decision.
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