Food Policy
Appendix 1: Risk rating categories and interventions
Information within this appendix relates to terminology and practices outlined in Food Standard Agency’s Code of Practice and Practice Guidance.
| Premises category | Interventions that can beundertaken |
|---|---|
| A | Inspection, audit (full or partial) |
| B | Inspection, audit (full or partial) |
| C (not broadly compliant) | Inspection, audit (full or partial) |
| C (broadly compliant) | Inspection, audit (full or partial) alternating (18 monthly) with monitoring, surveillance or verification, sampling |
| D | Inspection, audit (full or partial), monitoring, surveillance or verification, sampling alternating (every 2 years) with advice, coaching, information, intelligence gathering |
| E | Alternative enforcement |
Note: A broadly compliant premises is one which has a risk rating score of not more than 10 points under each of the following three parts of Annex A i.e. level of compliance relating to hygiene, structure and confidence in management. The types of intervention allowed will therefore vary depending upon the category. The following explains the types of interventions allowed for each category.
1a. Types of intervention for Category A, B and C which are not Broadly Compliant
For Categories A and B, and those category C premises that are not broadly compliant, these are considered to be the high risk premises, and therefore most of our focus will be targeted to these premises. The appropriate planned intervention should be:
- an inspection
- a partial inspection, or
- an audit
Other interventions such as sampling, or education and training can also take place alongside the above interventions. Sampling of a high risk premises is encouraged where poor practices are identified, or where they do not have confidence in the method of production of a particular foodstuff.
To decide whether to conduct an inspection, partial inspection or audit the following flow chart will be considered.
For category A and B and broadly compliant C, choosing full or partial inspections:
| Question | Answer | Intervention |
|---|---|---|
| Is the business large in size (area) and does it consist of high and low risk areas, for example supermarkets, manufacturers? | Yes | Partial inspection, audit suitable |
| Does the business have a full HACCP with related policy and working procedures etc? | Yes | Partial inspection, audit suitable |
| Does the business have third party accreditation and are the last reports available? | Yes | Partial inspection, audit suitable |
| Any of the above | No | Full inspection/audit required |
1b. Types of intervention for category A and B which are not broadly compliant and have persistent non compliance
At the start of each financial year the Team Leaders will assess those premises within those categories that have persistent non compliance, for example those food businesses that have been rated at category A or B and that have not been broadly compliant on more than 2 occasions.
Each persistent non-compliant business will be allocated to an officer and will be inspected on the due date. Case reviews of these premises will be carried out between the inspecting officer and their Team Leader.
1c. Food hygiene inspections full and partial
During partial or other inspections the following information as a minimum will still be ascertained:
- confirmation of the operations carried out
- confirmation of the products produced
- an assessment of the effectiveness of the critical control points
- the examination of the CCP records
Partial areas officers can choose to cover include:
- drainage
- personal hygiene
- sickness policies
- ventilation
- pest control records
- detailed water plans
- waste contracts
- detailed cleaning schedules
2. Types of intervention for premises that are category C and broadly compliant
For category C premises that are broadly compliant, on an 18-month alternative basis, official control interventions, other than inspections, can be used.
For example:
- sampling visit
- surveillance/alternative enforcement visit
- monitoring and verifications visits – risk based visits focussed on most critical points
- cleaning
- temperature control (chilling, cooking, hot holding, cold displays)
- cross contamination
3. Types of interventions for category D premises
These are premises that are considered to be lower risk and therefore interventions can alternate on a 2 year alternating basis between official control interventions and non-official control interventions such as:
- sampling visit (sampling visits will not currently be used with this type of premises unless high risk contraventions are found)
- surveillance/alternative enforcement visit
- monitoring and verifications visits – risk based visits focussed on most critical points
- cleaning
- temperature control (chilling, cooking, hot holding, cold displays)
- cross contamination
- coaching visit
- advice, education, information
However, where a business has scored 30 or 40 for ‘type of food and method of handling’ the official control must be an inspection, partial inspection or audit.
4. Types of interventions for category E premises – alternative enforcement visits
Alternative food hygiene inspections are carried out in 'low risk' establishments. These are establishments which score less than 31 points overall as dictated by the Food Law Code of Practice – Food Hygiene Inspection Rating Scheme. Category E food businesses form part of the inspection programme and are monitored accordingly. The approach will be through the use of self-assessment questionnaires which are completed and returned by the food business operator and assessed by authorised officers who would also determine any necessary follow up action.
The use of an alternative enforcement strategy does not preclude the use of an official control intervention when considered necessary or appropriate and would not be used for those businesses that are approved under Regulation 853/2004.
Summary of interventions relating to risk category
| Premises category | Interventions that can beundertaken |
|---|---|
| A | Inspection, audit (full or partial) |
| B | Inspection, audit (full or partial) |
| C (not broadly compliant) | Inspection, audit (full or partial) |
| C (broadly compliant) | Inspection, audit (full or partial) alternating (18 monthly) with monitoring, surveillance or verification, sampling |
| D | Inspection, audit (full or partial), monitoring, surveillance or verification, sampling alternating (every 2 years) with advice, coaching, information, intelligence gathering |
| E | Alternative enforcement |
The risk assessment will be reviewed at every general inspection, but not at revisits. Businesses will be encouraged to be aware of this risk assessment scheme and be encouraged to reduce their score thereby reducing the frequency of inspection.
When requested, each officer will advise the food business operator/manager of their rating and be prepared to discuss how it was arrived at and how the business can reduce it.