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CLEANLINESS & CONDITION

Score 10 — Generally satisfactory

A score of 10 indicates a generally satisfactory standard of compliance for the cleanliness and condition of your premises and facilities at the time of your assessment.

Your premises are generally being kept clean and in reasonable condition, but the food safety officer has identified cleaning, maintenance, repair or facility issues that need attention. These may become more significant if they are not addressed.

10
GENERALLY SATISFACTORY Some improvements are needed
✓

Review all points raised during your inspection

✓

Address cleaning, repairs and facility issues

✓

Work towards Score 0 — Very good

i
Remember: Component scores work in the opposite direction to your overall food hygiene rating. For component scores, lower is better. A score of 10 is Generally satisfactory, while Score 0 represents Very good.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR SCORE

What does a cleanliness & condition score of 10 mean?

A score of 10 indicates a generally satisfactory standard of compliance for the cleanliness and condition of your premises and facilities.

Your premises are generally being kept clean and in reasonable repair, but some areas of non-compliance have been identified. These issues may not currently be significant in terms of food safety risk, but they could become more significant if they are not addressed.

The examples below are based on the types of issues described in FSA guidance. They can help you understand what may need reviewing, but they do not explain why your individual business received a score of 10. Your own inspection findings should always come first.

Clean and well-maintained commercial food premises
EXAMPLE 01

Cleaning standards

What could be going wrong?

The FSA describes a generally satisfactory standard where food-contact surfaces may be thoroughly cleaned, but cleaning is inadequate in some other areas and needs to be improved.

What to review

Look beyond the most obvious work surfaces. Check floors, walls, equipment, fittings, storage areas and less accessible places where dirt, grease or food debris can build up.

WHAT MAY HELP

Review your cleaning schedule so it clearly states what must be cleaned, how often and how. Make sure suitable cleaning products and equipment are available and that staff are following the correct method.

EXAMPLE 02

Repairs & condition

What could be going wrong?

Premises may be fairly well maintained overall but still require repairs. The FSA specifically gives cracked or missing wall tiles near a food preparation surface as an example.

What to review

Check walls, floors, ceilings, doors, shelving, work surfaces and equipment for damage, deterioration or surfaces that are becoming difficult to clean effectively.

WHAT MAY HELP

Deal with defects before they deteriorate further, schedule routine maintenance checks and encourage staff to report damage promptly. Surfaces should remain in a condition that allows effective cleaning.

EXAMPLE 03

Facilities, layout & ventilation

What could be going wrong?

FSA guidance says appropriate facilities may be provided but with some issues of non-compliance. Structural scoring can include layout, lighting, ventilation and the facilities needed to maintain good hygiene.

What to review

Review hand-washing and equipment-washing facilities, ventilation, lighting and the layout of working areas. Check that facilities are suitable, accessible and operating properly.

WHAT MAY HELP

Repair faulty facilities promptly, keep sinks and washing facilities properly equipped, and address ventilation, lighting or layout problems where they make hygienic working or effective cleaning more difficult.

EXAMPLE 04

Pest proofing & waste

What could be going wrong?

The FSA gives minor pest-proofing work as an example at Score 10, while noting that there would be no evidence of current pest activity. Waste-disposal arrangements would generally remain satisfactory.

What to review

Look for gaps around doors, pipes or other possible access points, continue checking for signs of pests and review external and internal waste areas, bins and collection arrangements.

WHAT MAY HELP

Complete minor proofing work promptly, maintain regular pest checks, keep premises and waste areas clean and tidy, and record any pest-control visits or corrective actions that are required.

A useful distinction on pest control

The FSA's Score 10 example refers to minor pest-proofing deficiencies where there is no evidence of current pest activity. If your inspection identified an active pest problem, follow the specific findings and corrective action required by your food safety officer rather than assuming this generic example applies.

Your aim: Address the cleaning, repair, facility or pest-proofing issues identified during your inspection and prevent relatively limited defects from developing into more significant hygiene problems.

YOUR FINDINGS COME FIRST

Start with your inspection report

Score 10 tells you that some non-compliance was identified, but the score alone cannot tell you exactly what was found at your premises.

Use your inspection report, letter or written findings to identify the specific cleaning, repair, maintenance, facility or pest-proofing issues that need attention.

1

Identify the actual issue

Separate each finding raised by the officer. Was cleaning inadequate in a particular area, was a surface damaged, was a repair overdue, was there a problem with a facility or was pest proofing required?

2

Look at why it happened

Consider whether the problem developed because an area was missing from the cleaning routine, maintenance had been delayed, damage had not been reported or an existing premises check had failed to identify the issue early enough.

3

Check it stays corrected

After cleaning, repairing or improving the area, revisit it during normal operation. Make sure the standard is being maintained and that the same defect is not beginning to develop again.

Your inspection findings take priority

The examples on this page show the types of issues that may be associated with a Score 10, but they should not be used to guess why you received the score. Address the specific findings made by your food safety officer first.

YOUR NEXT STEP

Moving towards Very good

A Score 10 means the cleanliness and condition of your premises are generally satisfactory, but identifiable issues remain. Improvement is about correcting those defects and making sure cleaning, maintenance and premises standards are consistently well controlled.

10
GENERALLY SATISFACTORY Your current component score
WORK TOWARDS
0
VERY GOOD Best component score
1

Correct the identified issues

Work through every cleaning, repair, maintenance, facility or pest-proofing point raised during your inspection and make sure the required work has actually been completed.

2

Prevent standards slipping again

Strengthen cleaning schedules, routine premises checks and maintenance arrangements so that dirt, damage and deterioration are identified and dealt with before they become established problems.

3

Verify the improvement

Revisit cleaned and repaired areas, facilities and pest-proofing work after changes have been made to confirm that the improved standard is still being maintained during normal operation.

The goal is sustained improvement

Correcting an individual defect does not automatically result in a Score 0. The aim is for very good standards of cleanliness, repair and premises condition to be evident throughout the business when they are next assessed.

Strengthen your cleaning & premises controls

Explore practical products to help improve cleanliness and hygiene across food premises, from surface cleaning and disinfection to hand hygiene, waste management and cleaning equipment.

Use these alongside the specific actions identified during your inspection to help address weaker areas, support better day-to-day standards and work towards a Very good result.

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IMPROVEMENT SELF-CHECK

Are your cleanliness & condition standards now being maintained?

Use this checklist after reviewing your inspection findings and making improvements. A Score 10 can reflect premises that are generally satisfactory but still have cleaning, repair, facility or pest-proofing issues that need attention.

✓

Have you addressed every issue raised during your inspection?

Work through the officer’s findings individually so that cleaning, maintenance, repair, facility or pest-control issues are not overlooked.

✓

Are all areas now being cleaned effectively?

Check beyond obvious food-contact surfaces. Make sure floors, walls, equipment, fittings and less accessible areas are being cleaned to the required standard and at suitable intervals.

✓

Have outstanding repairs and damaged surfaces been dealt with?

Review defects such as damaged or missing tiles, deteriorating surfaces, damaged equipment or other areas that could make effective cleaning more difficult or allow standards to decline.

✓

Are your facilities suitable and working properly?

Where relevant to your inspection findings, review hand-washing and equipment-washing facilities, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities needed to maintain hygienic premises.

✓

Have you reviewed pest proofing and waste arrangements?

Check for gaps or access points that need proofing, signs of pest activity and problems around waste storage. Make sure bins, storage areas and collection arrangements remain suitable.

✓

Have you checked that the improvements are lasting?

Revisit repaired, cleaned or improved areas after the work has been completed. Check that cleaning standards, premises condition and facilities remain satisfactory during normal day-to-day operation.

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