Food hygiene and safety within Derby for customers

Food businesses have a legal duty to ensure that the food they sell is safe to eat. The food must be stored and prepared in clean and hygienic conditions.

This legal duty covers food businesses such as shops, takeaways, cafes, restaurants, public houses and mobile traders such as burger vans.

The Food and Safety Team carry out regular food hygiene inspections to ensure that food businesses are complying with the legal requirements. 

For some businesses the outcome of these inspections is shown through a food hygiene rating.  Ratings can be found on the Food Standard Agency website.

To help customers decide where to eat or shop for food we have adopted the Food Standards Agency’s national Food Hygiene Rating Scheme.

The scheme rates food businesses on a scale of 0 (Urgent Improvement Necessary) to 5 (Very Good) dependent upon the cleanliness and hygiene practices identified during the routine food hygiene inspection.

The inspection is normally carried out unannounced so the food business does not know about the inspection in advance.

There are three main areas checked as part of their rating:

• Food hygiene and safety procedures – how hygienically food is handled, how it is prepared, cooked, cooled, stored, and what measures are taken to prevent food being contaminated with bacteria, chemicals and foreign bodies;
• Structural requirements – the condition of the structure of the premises including cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation, availability of hot and cold water, equipment and other facilities; and 
• Confidence in management – how the business is managed and the records that are kept.

Food businesses which supply food directly to the consumer will be included within the scheme, such as: 

• Restaurants
• Takeaways
• Public houses (including wet sales only)
• Hotels, guesthouses and B&B’s
• Retail shops including corner shops and supermarkets
• Schools and nurseries
• Care and Nursing homes
• Lunch clubs
• Mobile caterers
• Home caterers such as cake and chutney makers

Businesses will not be included if they do not sell food directly to the consumer, such as cash & carries who only sell to businesses and food manufacturers.

Low risk businesses may also be exempt.

Food business are supplied with a door/window sticker showing their rating.

There is currently no legal requirement for the sticker to be displayed.

All food hygiene ratings for businesses within Derby can be found on the Food Hygiene Rating website.