Available now in 50 countries, following each country’s own food hygiene rules.

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United Kingdom: for restaurants and takeaways

Ready for the food inspection. Every day.

In the UK each nation has its own hygiene rules. The app follows Schedule 4 temperature rules and the official packs: Safer Food Better Business, CookSafe and Safe Catering. Council food officers inspect.

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The Chef Hygiene app on a computer: the home screen of a kitchen with its daily checksThe Chef Hygiene app on a phone: the home screen of a kitchen with its daily checks

United Kingdom: food hygiene rules

Inspection body
Food Standards Agency (FSA) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Food Standards Scotland (FSS) in Scotland; the local council inspects
Public rating
Yes
Languages in the app
English

Your inspection

The local council’s Environmental Health Officer (EHO) inspects food businesses. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the Food Standards Agency runs the rating scheme. In Scotland, Food Standards Scotland runs it. Fire is checked by the fire and rescue service.

Officers may inspect your records in whatever form you keep them, use your computers and take copies away (Food Safety Act 1990, section 32; Northern Ireland: Food Safety (NI) Order 1991). In England, the Food Law Code of Practice says a high-risk business (category A) is visited every 6 months and a low-risk one (category E) every 36 months. You can appeal a rating within 21 days, free of charge. A re-rating visit is unannounced and the rating can go up or down.

Hygiene rating

England, Wales and Northern Ireland: the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) gives a rating from 0 to 5. Display is required by law in Wales and Northern Ireland, and voluntary in England. Scotland: the Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS) gives Pass or Improvement Required, and showing the certificate is not a legal requirement.

Why records matter in the UK

25,535

UK food businesses are rated 4 only because of their records and management. Everything else scored top marks.

Our count from FSA open data, 28 Sep 2026

38.7%

of takeaways in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are rated below 5.

FSA open data, 28 Sep 2026

£190–£350

is what councils charge for a re-rating visit after a low score.

Preston, Hackney and Westminster councils

“Law” is a binding rule. “Official guidance” is not law, but inspectors expect it. “Chef Hygiene default” is a value the app checks against where no rule gives a number.

Temperatures

  • LawEngland, Wales and Northern Ireland: keep chilled food at 8°C or below (Schedule 4 of the national hygiene regulations). Scotland has no legal chill temperature.
  • Official guidanceGuidance for all nations: set fridges and chilled displays to 5°C or below. In Scotland, 8°C or below is recommended and 5°C is the aim (CookSafe).
  • LawEngland, Wales and Northern Ireland: hold hot food at 63°C or above. You may go below 63°C once, for under 2 hours, then reheat, cool to 8°C or below, or throw the food away. Scotland: above 63°C, with no 2-hour allowance.
  • LawEngland, Wales and Northern Ireland: chilled food may be on display out of the fridge once, for under 4 hours. Then put it back at 8°C or below, or throw it away. Scotland has no such allowance.
  • Official guidanceCooking, core temperature (Safer Food Better Business): 70°C for 2 minutes. Equal options are 60°C for 45 minutes, 65°C for 10 minutes, 75°C for 30 seconds or 80°C for 6 seconds. CookSafe (Scotland) and Safe Catering (Northern Ireland) use 75°C.
  • LawScotland: reheat to at least 82°C, unless that would spoil the food. Then use a safe time and temperature, for example 70°C for 2 minutes (CookSafe).
  • LawCool food as quickly as possible. This applies in all UK nations.
  • Official guidanceGuidance on reheating and cooling: England and Wales reheat until steaming hot all the way through. Northern Ireland reheats to 75°C and puts cooked food in the chill within 2 hours (Safe Catering). Scotland records cooling times or follows an established cooling method (CookSafe).
  • Official guidanceKeep freezers at −18°C or below. Scotland’s CookSafe gives example delivery limits of 5°C or below for chilled food and −18°C or below for frozen food.

Staff, training and health

  • LawNo law requires a food hygiene certificate. Food handlers must be supervised and instructed or trained for their work, and whoever runs the HACCP plan must be trained in it (Regulation 852/2004, Annex II).
  • LawStaff who are ill must not handle food and must report it at once. This applies in all four nations.
  • Official guidanceFSA fitness-to-work guidance: staff with diarrhoea or vomiting stay off food work until 48 hours after the symptoms stop. Scotland also counts 48 hours after the last anti-diarrhoea medicine.
  • Official guidanceScotland: guidance says high-risk food handlers should complete a formal food hygiene course within 3 months of starting.
  • Official guidanceReturn-to-work forms: the FSA questionnaire (England, Wales, Northern Ireland), Safe Catering form SC7 (Northern Ireland) and the CookSafe Return to Work Questionnaire (Scotland).

Allergens

  • LawYou must manage the 14 allergens: celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soya, sulphites and tree nuts.
  • LawLoose (non-prepacked) food: allergen information may be given by word of mouth, but only if a notice tells customers to ask staff. FSA best practice is to give it in writing as well, and to talk to the customer.
  • LawPrepacked for direct sale (PPDS) food, under Natasha’s Law since 1 October 2021: the label shows the food’s name and the full ingredients list, with allergens emphasised.
  • LawOrders by phone or online: give allergen information before the order is completed and again at delivery.

Fire safety checks

  • LawEngland and Wales: the responsible person must do a suitable fire risk assessment (Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005). Since 1 October 2023 it must be written down in full, with the assessor’s name, whatever the size of the business.
  • LawScotland and Northern Ireland: write the assessment down if you have 5 or more employees, need a licence or registration, or an alterations notice asks for it. Guidance says to write it down anyway.
  • Official guidanceOfficial guidance: test the fire alarm every week. Test emergency lighting every month, with a full test every year. Service extinguishers every year and hold a fire drill at least once a year.
  • LawGas: keep appliances, pipes and flues safe, and use only Gas Safe engineers for gas work. HSE calls a yearly inspection a reasonable minimum.
  • Official guidanceKitchen extract cleaning under the TR19 Grease standard: every 3 months for 12 to 16 hours of cooking a day, every 6 months for 6 to 12 hours, and every 12 months for 2 to 6 hours.

Records

  • LawYou need permanent procedures based on HACCP principles, with records that fit the size of the business, kept for an appropriate period (Regulation 852/2004, Article 5). No law requires Safer Food Better Business, CookSafe or Safe Catering.
  • LawKeep purchase records: supplier name and address, product, quantity and date, one step back. This is not needed for sales to final consumers.
  • Official guidanceElectronic records are accepted: the official Safer Food Better Business guidance allows an electronic diary. Safer Food Better Business also asks for a review every 4 weeks.
  • Official guidanceHow long to keep records: Safer Food Better Business says until the council’s next visit; Northern Ireland guidance says at least 12 months.

Official sources

Checked

This page is general information, not legal advice. Check with your local authority.

United Kingdom: food hygiene guides

United Kingdom: the Chef Hygiene app

The app loads these rules for your kitchen, checks your records against them and keeps proof for the inspector.

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