If you enjoy eating out, you should know that the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) makes a
real difference in helping you to make a good choice.

When you’re choosing somewhere to eat for family and friends, you want to know that the business
takes food hygiene seriously.

It’s much harder to change your mind once you’ve sat down. And no one likes unpleasant surprises
when eating out or the social embarrassment of finding out the food business has poor food hygiene
standards with a rating of only ‘’0’ (urgent improvement necessary) 1’ (major improvement
necessary) or ‘2’ (improvement necessary’.

Checking the rating first, is one of the little things you should do for peace of mind and to help
keep your loved ones safe.

The rating gives you an insight into the places you can’t see, like the kitchen, and means you can
make an informed choice about where you eat, leaving you to concentrate on the other things that
make for an enjoyable meal.

Check for the food hygiene rating first, simply look for the green and black rating sticker on the
window or door and if you don’t see one, ask ‘where’s the sticker’.

What is the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme? The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme provides information about
the food hygiene standards found by local authority food safety officers when they inspect food
outlets to check they are meeting food hygiene law. This law is in place to protect peoples’
health.

If you can’t see the green and black sticker – you can ask or check the rating online at: 
http://ratings.food.gov.uk

You don’t have to settle for poor hygiene standards. If the rating sticker is not on display, what
does that tell you? So make sure the place you choose is taking food hygiene seriously. There’s
ratings information online for over 440,000 food businesses and with over 93% having a rating of 3,
4 or 5 there’s plenty of choice. It’s good for business too.
Council Offices, Swanspool House, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, NN8 1BP

Swanspool House Doddington Road Wellingborough Northamptonshire NN8 1BP

Tel:  01933 229777 DX 12865 www.wellingborough.gov.uk
DX 12865

If you're running a food business, you should know that any food business, no matter how small,
can achieve a top FHRS rating of 5 ‘very good’. A good rating is something to be proud of, so
display your sticker and don’t leave potential customers guessing how seriously you take food
hygiene, or worse, assuming that you have something to hide.

Many businesses that are already displaying their rating at their premises say it has made a
difference by improved reputation, increased customer confidence and more customers.
The FHRS campaign encourages people, when eating out or buying food, to look for the green and
black rating sticker and have peace of mind that they are making a responsible choice in keeping
their family and friends safe. So don’t miss out, make sure you display your sticker in the window
or door for customers to see.

Amanda Wilcox, Principal Environmental Health Manager at Wellingborough Council says, “The Food
Hygiene Rating scheme is designed to ensure transparency for customers when they are deciding where
to eat. It also encourages food business to improve and maintain food hygiene standards. We usually
find that food businesses with a rating of 3 or more will display their window sticker, while those
with less than 3 often do not. We really encourage consumers to ask the question of a food business
if they can’t see the window sticker on display. Regardless of whether businesses display their
rating, they can all be found on the Food Hygiene Rating website http://ratings.food.gov.uk”.
–ends–
Council Offices,                                                                        ptonshire,
NN8 1BP
Tel:                                                  .wellingborough.gov.uk
Swanspool House
Doddington Road Wellingborough

Northamptonshire NN8 1BP
DX