All food hygiene rating data on HygieneScout comes from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) API at api.ratings.food.gov.uk. This is the same data displayed on the official ratings.food.gov.uk website.
We run a full data synchronisation every day at 3am UTC. This checks all ~390 local authorities for new inspections, updated ratings, and newly registered establishments. When a rating changes, we capture a snapshot so we can track rating history over time.
In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) rates food businesses from 0 to 5:
Ratings are based on three inspection areas: how hygienically food is handled (Hygiene, scored 0–25), the physical condition of the premises (Structural, 0–25), and how well food safety is managed (Confidence in Management, 0–30). Lower scores are better — a score of 0 in each area indicates the highest standards.
Scotland uses a different system: the Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS). Instead of a 0–5 scale, businesses receive a Pass or Improvement Required result. We display Scottish establishments with their FHIS rating and exclude them from numeric averages and rankings to avoid misleading comparisons.
FSA data is published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This allows free use, adaptation, and redistribution of the data with appropriate attribution. HygieneScout attributes the Food Standards Agency on every page.
Ratings reflect the standards found at the time of the last inspection. A business may have improved or declined since. Some establishments in the FSA database may have closed but not yet been removed by their local authority. We flag inspections older than 3 years with a notice. For the most up-to-date information, contact the relevant local authority directly.