How to prepare for an EHO food hygiene inspection
Food hygiene inspections in the UK are usually unannounced, so "preparing" really means being ready every trading day. Here is what environmental health officers look at, how the scoring works, and a practical checklist you can run against your own business this week.
When and why officers visit
Your local authority inspects on a risk-based cycle: higher-risk businesses (raw meat, vulnerable customers, previous problems) are visited more often than a low-risk coffee shop. New businesses are usually inspected within months of registering. Officers can arrive at any reasonable time without an appointment — which is why evidence created on the day, every day, beats a pre-inspection tidy-up.
The three areas that decide your rating
Officers assess three things, and under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme your weakest area caps the overall rating:
- Food handling — how food is prepared, cooked, cooled, reheated and stored; cross-contamination controls; personal hygiene.
- Structure and cleanliness — the condition of the premises, equipment, pest control, layout and general cleanliness.
- Confidence in management — your food safety management system (SFBB for most small businesses), records, training and whether problems get fixed.
Most well-run kitchens score fine on the first two and get held back by the third — usually because records have gaps. Our guide to moving from a 3 to a 5 covers that in detail.
What officers typically ask for
- Your SFBB pack (or equivalent) with the safe methods completed for your business, not left blank
- The daily diary — opening/closing checks and anything that went wrong, up to date as of today (see digital SFBB diaries)
- Temperature records for fridges, freezers, cooking and hot holding (see what a credible temperature log looks like)
- Cleaning schedules and evidence they are followed
- Staff training records and allergen information (see allergen rules)
- Supplier details and pest control arrangements
A readiness checklist you can run today
- Open your diary: is today's opening check done and signed? Is there a gap in the last 28 days?
- Pick a fridge at random — does the logged temperature match the display right now?
- Find your last recorded problem. Is there a corrective action and a close-out next to it?
- Ask your newest team member where the allergen matrix is and what they'd tell a customer.
- Check probe calibration was done and recorded in the last month.
- Look up: are ceilings, extract filters and high shelves clean? Officers do.
If any of those made you wince, fix the routine rather than the paperwork — a system that chases the missed check the same day is what keeps you permanently inspection-ready.
Put this into practice with Localyn
Localyn gives cafes, restaurants and takeaways a digital SFBB diary, temperature and cleaning records, allergen management and inspection-ready reports — all in one place.