CASE STUDY:
Support and advice when the EHO inspection does not go well!

Background / Introduction:

Food hygiene inspections are a routine part of running a food business. Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) from your local authority will visit your business whilst you are trading to check that you are complying with food safety laws, producing safe food, and ensuring your employees and the public are kept safe.

Inspections are often unannounced to enable the EHO to make a realistic assessment of the day-to-day operations of your business. Therefore, you always need to be inspection ready. This means maintaining high standards of food hygiene at all times and ensuring that your staff understand their responsibilities and can explain key controls and procedures to an EHO, particularly if you may not be at the business when the EHO comes to call.  

EHOs are directed to assess the standards in place at the time of the visit. This means there is unlikely to be the opportunity for a “do-over”/ a second chance to prove compliance after an unsuccessful or unsatisfactory first attempt, which will inevitably affect the food hygiene rating awarded to the visit.  

Preparation and planning are key. However, with all the good will in the world sometimes things just don’t go as planned. It could be that on that day when key equipment fails, or you find yourself short staffed and procedures have not been implemented, or you find yourself in disarray, the EHO walks in. Things don’t always go well, That’s just life.  But don’t worry, NCASS are here to help and support you to get back on top.  

❌ The Problem

An NCASS member operating a new business unit, was not on site the day the unannounced EHO inspection took place. On the same day the hot water system supplying their hand washing unit had broken down and staff had been unable to explain the key food safety procedures as outlined in their NCASS Safety Management System.  

The EHO issued an inspection report detailing the contraventions that were identified at the time of the visit and awarded the business a food hygiene rating of 1- Improvement Necessary!

The member was gutted! This was not the start they envisaged for their new business.

✓ How We Helped

The member contacted NCASS and asked for advice and guidance.

The NCASS Environmental Health Specialist had a call with the member and talked them through their inspection report; to check they understood the requirements and were able to come up with a plan to address each matter.

With a little bit of reassurance, some help understanding how the food hygiene rating scoring had been applied, and the key controls to apply to enable their compliance, the member then went away and put their plan into action.

The NCASS Environmental Health Specialist was also able to help the member to understand the safeguard measures within the food hygiene rating scheme which include their right to request a rerating inspection (a request for another inspection to issue a new food hygiene rating). The member was advised on the key points to highlight within the request form to confirm that improvements had been made.

Their request for a re-rating inspection was granted. This time the member was better prepared. They had used the time to properly establish their food safety controls. This included training staff on the procedures as outlined in their food safety risk assessment, to ensure that they could confidently communicate the key checks they carry out and how these are recorded. The key to this was ensuring consistent implementation of their procedures.   They also established a daily checking regime to ensure key equipment such as the water heater were carried out to identify problems quickly before they became full failures and ensured that routine maintenance was carried out.

The Outcome

The member received another inspection and this time they were awarded a food hygiene rating of 5 – Very Good. They now proudly display their rating window sticker. They addressed the problems quickly and effectively, demonstrating a willingness to take on board advice and react appropriately. 

The member now appreciates the need for consistency and being inspection ready!