Data methodology

This page explains where Localyn directory and food hygiene information comes from, how often it is updated, and what Localyn does — and does not — verify.

Business directory data

Localyn maintains a public directory of UK food businesses for discovery and owner claiming. Listings may be created from official Food Standards Agency establishment records, owner claims, and other public sources used during onboarding or enrichment.

Directory pages show business names, categories, locations, and related Localyn services. Contact details imported from third-party matches are published only when they meet Localyn’s contact-confidence rules. Name-only guesses and cross-city mismatches are not published.

Food hygiene ratings

Official food hygiene ratings, inspection dates, and related FSA identifiers shown on Localyn come from the Food Standards Agency. Localyn does not award, calculate, or alter official hygiene ratings.

Where Localyn shows totals, percentages, or rating distributions for a city, area, or category, those figures are Localyn calculations over the stored official ratings for published listings in that view. The date on a hub is the latest inspection date stored for that view. Analysis is labelled separately from the official rating itself.

The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme scores 0 to 5: 5 Very good, 4 Good, 3 Generally satisfactory, 2 Improvement necessary, 1 Major improvement necessary, and 0 Urgent improvement necessary. Those words are the Food Standards Agency’s. Food Hygiene Rating Scheme · ratings.food.gov.uk

How often data is updated

FSA-backed fields are refreshed when Localyn imports or re-projects establishment data. Directory hub pages may show the latest inspection date present in that view as a practical “food hygiene data last updated” marker. Owner-edited fields update when a claimed business changes its profile.

Unclaimed vs claimed

Unclaimed — Localyn holds a public listing the business has not claimed. The page stays in the directory and remains indexable. Quality issues are tracked for review and are not fixed by removing the page from search.
Claimed / claim-verified — An owner has completed Localyn’s claim process. They can add a description, hours, photos, contact details, and Localyn services. Those fields are labelled as supplied by the business, separate from official Food Standards Agency data and from Localyn’s generated summary.

What Localyn verifies

Localyn verifies claim workflow steps and stores official FSA fields as received. Localyn does not independently inspect kitchens, re-score hygiene ratings, or invent business descriptions, reviews, or customer activity.

Corrections

Use Report incorrect information on a listing to flag closed businesses, wrong names, addresses, categories, phone numbers, websites, or outdated details. Full detail is on the corrections page. See also the editorial policy.

Historical ratings

Where Localyn stores dated hygiene inspection snapshots, rating history and “improved / declined” views are derived from those snapshots. Localyn does not invent historical ratings.