The Food Standards Agency (FSA) in partnership with local councils developed the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. The scheme helps you choose where to eat out or shop for food by giving you clear information about the businesses’ hygiene standards.
Our food safety officers inspect food outlets such as restaurants, takeaways, supermarkets and grocers. During the inspection, we check that hygiene standards meet legal requirements and cover areas such as:
- how hygienically the food is handled - how it is prepared, cooked, re-heated, cooled and stored
- the condition of the structure of the buildings - the cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities
- how the business manages and records what it does to make sure food is safe, including having a completed safe catering pack or equivalent, the previous history of compliance in the business and staff training
There are many ways to check the rating of local eating establishments; you can check the rating online, via the free phone app or look for the distinctive green and black rating sticker that businesses must display.
For details of the Food Hygiene Rating of food premises in our area click the link below:
Search the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Area
Ratings are a snapshot of the standards of food hygiene found at the time of inspection. It is the responsibility of the business to comply with food hygiene law at all times. The hygiene standards found at the time of inspection are then rated on a scale of 0 to 5. A business can be given one of these ratings.
| Value Awarded |
Standard Achieved |
| Five |
Very Good |
| Four |
Good |
| Three |
Generally Satisfactory |
| Two |
Improvement Necessary |
| One |
Major Improvement Necessary |
| Zero |
Urgent Improvement Required |
Safeguards for businesses are incorporated in the scheme such as appeals, re-rating inspection and right of reply.
You can use the forms below to appeal the decision etc.