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HYGIENIC FOOD HANDLING

Score 10 — Generally satisfactory

A score of 10 indicates a generally satisfactory standard of compliance for hygienic food handling at the time of your assessment.

Your food handling controls are generally in place, but the food safety officer has identified areas that need attention. These issues may not currently be critical to food safety, but they could become more significant if they are not addressed.

10
GENERALLY SATISFACTORY Some improvements are needed
✓

Review all points raised during your inspection

✓

Address weaker food handling controls

✓

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.

What does a hygienic food handling score of 10 mean?

A score of 10 indicates a generally satisfactory standard of compliance for hygienic food handling.

This means the main food hygiene controls are generally in place, but some non-compliances or lapses have been identified. These 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 the FSA says may be seen at Score 10. They do not explain why your individual business received this score — your inspection findings should always be your starting point.

Hygienic food handling practices in a commercial kitchen

Temperature control

The FSA gives the example of high-risk food normally being kept below 8°C, but occasionally rising above this — for example during busy periods. Check whether your controls remain effective throughout service.

Monitoring & checks

Lapses in monitoring critical control points are another example given by the FSA. Check that important monitoring is completed when required and that action is taken when something falls outside your normal controls.

Food handling consistency

Preparation, cooking, reheating, cooling and storage may be generally satisfactory but show lapses over short periods. Look for times, shifts or busy periods when normal procedures are more likely to slip.

Personal hygiene

Some non-compliance may relate to staff personal hygiene. Check that hand washing, protective clothing and other hygienic practices are followed consistently by all staff throughout the working day.

Your aim: Identify where satisfactory controls are becoming inconsistent, address the issues raised during your inspection and prevent those lapses from developing into more significant food safety problems.

WHERE TO LOOK

Areas worth reviewing

A Score 10 can reflect food hygiene controls that are generally satisfactory but are not being applied consistently all of the time. The examples below are based on the types of lapses identified in FSA guidance and can help you understand where to look alongside your own inspection findings.

REVIEW 01

Temperature control

Do your temperature controls weaken when the business gets busy?

The FSA gives the example of high-risk food normally being refrigerated below 8°C, but occasionally rising above this during busy periods. Look for overloaded refrigeration, doors being left open, food being left out too long or checks not being acted on promptly.

REVIEW 02

Monitoring & checks

Are important checks occasionally being missed?

The FSA specifically identifies lapses in monitoring critical control points as an example at this level. Check whether temperatures, cooking controls or other important checks are sometimes missed, completed late or recorded without appropriate action being taken.

REVIEW 03

Food handling consistency

Are satisfactory procedures slipping for short periods?

Preparation, cooking, reheating, cooling and storage may generally be satisfactory while still showing occasional lapses. Look for particular shifts, staff changes, rush periods or stages of preparation where the normal procedure is not always followed.

REVIEW 04

Personal hygiene

Are staff hygiene standards consistent throughout the day?

Food hygiene non-compliance at this level can include staff personal hygiene. Review hand washing, suitable protective clothing and hygienic working practices, particularly when workloads increase or staff change.

These are examples, not a diagnosis of your score. A Score 10 does not mean that all of these problems were found at your business. Your inspection report tells you which issues actually contributed to your assessment and should always take priority.

YOUR FINDINGS COME FIRST

Start with your inspection report

Score 10 tells you that some non-compliance or lapses were identified, but the score alone cannot tell you exactly what happened in your business.

Use your inspection report, letter or written findings to identify the specific food handling practices, temperature controls, monitoring or staff hygiene issues that need attention.

1

Identify the actual lapse

Separate each issue raised by the officer. Was it a temperature problem, a missed check, an inconsistent handling practice, a staff hygiene issue or something else specific to your operation?

2

Look at why it happened

Consider whether the control failed during a busy period, because a check was missed, because staff were unclear about the procedure or because the existing system was difficult to follow in practice.

3

Check it stays corrected

Correct the immediate issue, then check the same control during normal service and busy periods to make sure the lapse does not simply return.

Your inspection findings take priority

The examples on this page show what a Score 10 can look like, 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 standards are generally satisfactory, but identifiable lapses remain. Improvement is therefore about more than correcting one isolated problem — the aim is to make your controls work consistently throughout normal day-to-day operation.

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

Correct the identified lapses

Work through every point in the inspection findings and make sure the immediate non-compliance or lapse has actually been corrected.

2

Find where controls break down

Pay particular attention to busy periods, staff changes and other times when satisfactory procedures become harder to maintain consistently.

3

Verify the improvement

Recheck temperatures, monitoring and working practices after changes have been made so you can see whether the improved control is actually being maintained.

The goal is reliable control

Addressing an individual issue does not automatically result in a Score 0. The aim is for very good food handling standards to be evident consistently, including at the times when your operation is under the most pressure.

Strengthen your food handling controls

Explore practical products to help improve and support good food handling practices, from personal hygiene and temperature monitoring to cross-contamination controls.

Use these alongside the specific actions identified during your inspection to help strengthen weaker areas and work towards a Very good standard.

View all products
IMPROVEMENT SELF-CHECK

Have you dealt with the issues identified?

Use this checklist after reviewing your inspection findings to help make sure problems have been properly addressed rather than simply corrected temporarily.

✓

Have you identified every food handling issue raised?

Work through the officer’s findings individually so that no point requiring attention is overlooked.

✓

Do you understand why each problem occurred?

Consider whether the issue was caused by an unclear procedure, inadequate equipment, staff practice, lack of monitoring or another weakness in the way the control was being applied.

✓

Has the immediate problem been corrected?

Make sure the specific issue identified during the inspection has actually been put right.

✓

Have you reduced the chance of it happening again?

Where needed, strengthen the procedure, working practice or control behind the problem rather than relying on a one-off correction.

✓

Do the relevant staff understand what has changed?

Make sure anyone affected understands the correct practice and what is now expected of them.

✓

Have you checked that the improvement is working?

Revisit the area after the change has been introduced and confirm that the improved standard is being maintained in normal day-to-day operation.

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