Are you worried about a food inspector visit? Whether you are running just a side hustle or your primary source of income, all food business premises in the UK are subject to inspection. This can be scary, but I'm here to help cure this phobia, to keep your place shipshape and customers safe!
When will I be inspected?
If you recently registered your catering business, you should receive a visit within 28 days of submitting your application. However, this depends on your business's level of risk and the inspector's availability.
You can even request an initial informal visit before selling food from your business premises. You can receive advice on food hygiene in your kitchen, which will help you ensure your kitchen is up to scratch.
Once your business is up and running, inspections range from six months to five years. You can expect the inspector to visit more regularly, such as every six months, if your business is high-risk and has a low food hygiene rating. If you're low-risk and have a high food hygiene rating, you may not receive your next inspection for a year or longer.
What do I need to do?
Cleaning
Clean, clean and then clean some more! Your inspector will want to see that your premises are clean and in good condition. So make sure that everything is clean and sparkling, including the entrance, the windows and all areas of your home that are relevant to your business. You want to create an excellent first impression.
Equipment
Ensure all your equipment is clean, safe and fully functioning, especially the fridge and freezer. All knives must be safely put away, and there are no hazards that could cause an accident, like loose wires, dodgy connections or any other broken equipment you have learned to live with.
Personal Hygiene
Personal hygiene is crucial to food safety. Make sure that you have adequate handwashing facilities. Your toilet and bathroom must not open out directly into your kitchen. Your inspector will want to see your toilet and handwashing facilities and your area for handwashing in the kitchen, which is essential for avoiding cross-contamination.
Pest control
Pest control is a significant concern for environmental health officers. So it would be best if you showed you are 100% pest free. If you have pets, you must show that they are kept out of your kitchen at all times when you are working on food that you intend to sell.
Storage
The inspectors will want to see where and how you store food, which means, they will look into your fridges and freezers. Are you checking using use-by, best-before dates and stock rotation?
Preparation
The inspector will want to know how you prepare ready-to-eat and cooked foods, how you use colour-coded equipment (like cutting boards), how you heat, cool, and defrost food, allergen awareness and labelling, cross-contamination prevention, and how you use probe thermometers.
Waste and washing
They will check where you store waste and how you wash laundry. If your washing machine is in the kitchen where you prepare food, you must refrain from running it while doing so.
Safety records
You will need to show evidence of food safety checks in your records, such as ensuring the fridge temperature is at 5ºC or lower each day. Your documents should also display information about how food is supplied to you and how you provide it's safe.
First aid
You may also be assessed for fire safety and first aid. Make sure you have working smoke detectors, a suitable fire escape route, and well-stocked first aid kits to keep you and anyone who works for you safe.
Managing all of this is difficult, so I made a quick checklist that helped me, and you can download your free copy here.
After the inspection
The inspector will rate your food hygiene which will then be displayed on the Food Standards Agency website.
The top score rating is five. A five-star hygiene rating is an excellent advertisement for your business. You can add this to your website or use stickers if appropriate for your company.
Scoring four is reasonable but not a great advertisement for your business, so it is best to wait not to draw attention to it until it has improved.
Anything from three and under could require you to close your business until you make the necessary changes.
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