Food Hygiene Level 5 Award

In December 2008 the Food Standards Agency agreed a Food Hygiene Level 5 to 0 as part of a national food hygiene rating scheme. It is now running in all areas of Wales, Northern Ireland and in 99% of England. In practice the food standards agency ratings scheme is designed to ensure that businesses that are broadly compliant with food law and are managing food safety risks will receive a rating of three … and those who are managing the risk well will receive a rating of four or five. However, significant lapses in any of the scoring criteria can also have a significant effect on the rating.

Food Ratings UK standards are typically given to businesses where food is supplied, sold or consumed, such as:

• restaurants, pubs and cafes
• takeaways, food vans and stalls
• canteens and hotels
• supermarkets and other food shops
• schools, hospitals and care homes

A food safety officer from the local authority inspects a business to check that it follows food hygiene law so that the food is safe to eat.

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At the inspection, the officer will check the following three elements:

• how hygienically the food is handled – how it is prepared, cooked, re-heated, cooled and stored
• the physical condition of the business –including cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation, pest control and other facilities
• how the business manages ways of keeping food safe, looking at processes, training and systems to ensure good hygiene is maintained. The officer can then assess the level of confidence in standards being maintained in the future

This course is intended to help you achieve food standard level 5 by giving you an overview of how the National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme works, what the scoring criteria are and how these are assessed by the inspectors, the appeals process, the Safer Food Better Business management system, E-Coli and concludes with somepractical advice for ensuring your premises gets the best score possible.

Visit the Food Standards Agency for more information on how food hygiene ratings checks are conducted and links to registering your food business.