Your official rating in Paddl
Paddl reads each site's rating from the Food Standards Agency's public register, the one behind ratings.food.gov.uk, and shows it on Readiness, on Home, on the EHO visit page and on each business card. This is the rating your council gave you, not an estimate. It is available for businesses in the UK.
Linking a site
Paddl looks for each site on the register by its postcode and name. When it finds a likely match, the site's page under Locations shows an Is this you? card with the name, address, rating and inspection date the FSA holds.
Yes, that's us links the site, and Paddl keeps its rating up to date from then on.
None of these stops Paddl suggesting matches for that site.
Not listed? Search by the name on your rating sticker, or type the site's FHRS ID: the number at the end of its page address on ratings.food.gov.uk.
Only an owner can link, change or unlink a site; managers see the rating for the sites they manage. Until a site is linked, Readiness shows Link your food hygiene rating in its place. A site the council has not rated yet shows Awaiting inspection, never a zero.
What the three scores mean
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the rating runs from 0 to 5. Behind it the inspector gives three scores, and for each one lower is better: 0 means nothing needed improving.
Score | What it covers | Points |
|---|---|---|
Hygiene | How food is handled, prepared, cooked, cooled and stored. | 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 |
Structural | The cleanliness and condition of the building: layout, lighting, ventilation, pest control. | 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 |
Confidence in management | Your food safety system, records and training, and how you deal with problems. | 0 to 30 |
Each score sits beside the matching Readiness element (Hygiene, Structure, Management), so the Food hygiene page shows the inspector's points next to where your records put you today. See Inspection Readiness.
Last inspected
Next to the rating Paddl shows when the site was last inspected, such as "Last inspected 14 months ago". Councils set how often they visit from a risk score they do not publish, so Paddl gives no due date. When the last inspection was more than 24 months ago the card adds an amber note: a visit may not be far off, so check your records are in order.
Scotland
Scotland runs its own scheme, the Food Hygiene Information Scheme. A Scottish site shows Pass, Pass and Eat Safe or Improvement Required in the same place instead of a number. Pass and Eat Safe adds the Eat Safe award for standards above the legal minimum. The Scottish scheme publishes no scores.
When your rating changes
Paddl checks every linked site with the FSA each week. When a new rating is published, up or down, the owners and the site's managers get a notification in Paddl, by email and on the app, with the previous rating, the new one and the inspection date. A new rating usually appears a few weeks after the visit. Paddl only accepts one with a newer inspection date than the rating it holds, so an out-of-date copy on the register never sets off a false alarm.
Not happy with a rating? Your council's letter explains how to appeal and how to ask for a re-rating visit. Start with Turning an EHO Report into an Action Plan.