The inspector has gone. The kitchen is quiet. And now you’re left holding a food hygiene report summary sheet — and maybe a few scribbled notes. No matter how the EHO visit went, one thing’s clear: what you do next matters after a poor food hygiene inspection.
This guide walks you through the smart steps to take after your food safety inspection. Whether you received a disappointing 0, 1 or 2 score, or a mediocre 3. You need to make sense of what was said, take action while it’s fresh, and understand your options after receiving a disappointing food hygiene rating.
Because surviving an EHO inspection is one thing. Recovery — and improving your food safety compliance— this is where the real work begins.
Here’s what you need to do to make sense of the chaos.
Table of Contents
1️⃣ Make Thorough Notes About The EHO Visit
Whilst the EHO inspection is still fresh in your mind, take 10 minutes to write down what happened.
Include what the inspector did and said:
❓ Who was present.
❓ What the inspector focused on.
❓ Was any verbal advice or warnings about food safety non-compliance given.
❓ Did the inspector took photos or samples.
At the end of the inspection, you would have been given a summary sheet. This is a one-pager listing the key findings, any immediate concerns, and what actions you need to take.
The detailed inspection report letter with the hygiene rating score will be sent by post a few days later. Business owners often get confused, and believe the one-pager is the actual report.
It is not — this is a common misunderstanding.
2️⃣ Display The Food Hygiene Rating Sticker
When you receive the detailed EHO inspection report in the post, you’ll find a food hygiene rating sticker in the envelope. The rules for displaying the hygiene rating sticker depend on which part of the UK your business is located.
👉 Read our article about the Food Hygiene Rating Sticker Display Rules.
Your food hygiene rating will also be published on the Food Standard Agency database.
If you’ve been awarded a food hygiene rating of ‘5 – very good’ this will be published online, as soon as the information is uploaded onto the system by your EHO.
Ratings of 0 – 4 will be published 3 – 5 weeks after the date of inspection. This is to allow for an appeal to be submitted. We’ll come back to this later.
After receiving the detailed inspection report, further options are time sensitive.
So, go back to 1️⃣ above. And while you’re waiting for your food hygiene rating sticker to arrive, make sure you have your own detailed record of the EHO visit.
💡 Tip: Keep these notes. These will be useful evidence if you decide to challenge your food hygiene rating score later.
3️⃣ Evaluate The EHO Inspection Report
Once you’ve got that detailed EHO inspection report, read it 🔍 carefully.
Here’s what to check:
Are there clear actions to take for food safety non-compliance?
Is is clear to you the difference between food hygiene legal requirements — and best practice advice?
Does the food hygiene report reflect what was actually said during the inspection?
💡 If anything’s unclear, don’t ignore it. Make a note of it.
📊 EHO Report as a Strategic Tool
The feedback you receive in the report following your food hygiene inspection is vitally important.
It’s a snapshot of your weakest link within your food safety management system. Used wisely, it becomes a powerful tool for improving both your systems and the training your team receive.
💡 Use the food safety inspection as a strategic tool to propel your business forwards.
4️⃣ Decide Whether To Accept The Food Hygiene Rating Score
If you’re planning to accept the food hygiene score and move forward, you need to take immediate action on what the inspector has raised.
But — and this is important — if you’re unhappy with the hygiene rating do not start fixing any issues in the EHO report.
Why?
Because, if you make changes after the EHO visit, you’re effectively accepting the findings — and any appeal you decide to make will likely be dismissed.
🛑 Unhappy With Your Food Hygiene Rating?
If you’re unhappy with the food hygiene rating score you have options. You can challenge an unfair food hygiene rating.
Therefore, it is important that you:
- Wait for the formal EHO inspection report letter to arrive.
- Gather your evidence (notes, photos, staff statements).
- Do not fix any issues until your appeal is resolved.
👉 Familiarise yourself with frequently asked questions by reading our food hygiene rating appeal guide.
Read our guidance here 👉 if you decide to challenge an unfair hygiene rating.
✅ If You Accept Your Food Hygiene Rating Score
If you accept your food hygiene rating, then:
- Fix high-priority issues right away.
- Take photographs as proof that non-compliance has been corrected.
- Update your food safety management system , if necessary.
- Keep any receipts or invoices as evidence that corrective work has been undertaken.
You may be asked to email evidence to the EHO as proof.
💡 Whichever path you take start documenting now — and make sure you are aware of your legal right to challenge an unfair food hygiene rating.
5️⃣ Your Next Step
Once the dust has settled, your next move depends on what food hygiene rating you received, and:
➊ Whether you’ve decided to recover from a dismal 0, 1 or 2 score.
➋ Or you have decided to accept an average 3 hygiene rating.
➌ Alternatively, you may be proudly holding a 4 or 5 — there is still room for improvement. Plus, you’ll want to take action to keep the highest hygiene rating on your door, going forwards.
💡 The smartest businesses always act with intention.
Turn the Food Safety Inspection into Team Learning
Don’t keep the findings from the inspection report to yourself. Use it in your next team meeting or toolbox talk to reinforce good habits and improve team awareness.
Reinforce to staff that making a mistake is ok (we are all human). The key is not to make the mistake more than once.
Build a strong workplace culture where ”it’s ok to ask” and question things.
These small team conversations might not feel like much — but this is exactly how a strong food safety culture is built. One conversation at a time.
💡 The smartest businesses repurpose mistakes into learning moments for the team.
🔁 Continuous Improvement (PDCA)
Food safety isn’t a one-time fix — it’s a process of continual improvement.
The best businesses use a Plan–Do–Check–Act approach (or the PDCA cycle) to spot gaps, close those gaps by fixing problems, and prevent issues from repeating or reoccurring.
It’s how to keep that 5 hygiene score on your door.
💡 The smartest businesses always learn and continually improve their performance.
💬 Your Right to Reply
Not happy with your food hygiene score, but decided not to challenge your hygiene rating? You still have options.
The ‘right to reply’ is a safeguard you can utilise.
This is where you can submit a short statement to the Food Standards Agency — and it will appear online.
It’s your chance to tell your customers and suppliers:
- What has happened (why your score dropped).
- Offer context around the circumstances that led to the lower score (e.g. “New owner as of last month”).
- Demonstrate your commitment to taking action to correct the situation.
Sadly, most businesses don’t use this.
But when written well, it can protect your reputation — think of a low food hygiene score is a temporary setback.
👉 Read our article on how to protect your reputation from a low hygiene rating fast.
🔁 Request a Re-Inspection (Re-Rating)
Once you’ve fixed the issues raised in your report, you can apply for a re-inspection to improve your hygiene rating score.
📌 In Wales, England, and Northern Ireland, there’s no mandatory waiting period — but you must be able to show that all necessary improvements are complete.
That means:
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No quick fixes just to tick a box.
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You’ll need to submit written evidence (e.g. photos, new logs, invoices).
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If the inspector disagrees that enough has changed, they can refuse the revisit.
💡 Tip: It’s not about doing everything perfectly — it’s about showing clear, sustained improvement.
We’ll be publishing a full guide on how to prepare for a successful reinspection soon.
✅ Final Thought
Whether you’re staring down at a 1 food hygiene rating, sitting awkwardly on a 3 hygiene rating, or proudly holding a 5 food hygiene score — the real question is this:
What are you going to do next?
Smart businesses don’t wait. They:
- Document what happened.
- Act on the evidence.
- Use the tools available.
- Activate their legal rights and take control of what comes next.
- Focus on continual improvement.
Because your hygiene rating isn’t just a number — it’s a public signal of how seriously you take food safety.
💬 Need help interpreting your report or planning your next move?
Use our free Ask an Expert Helpline service to ask general advice questions.
You’ve done the hard part.
💡 Now, as a smart business, it’s time for you to turn that EHO visit into progress…and growth!
