EHO Inspection Checklist: What Inspectors Actually Check

How EHO inspections work in the UK

Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) inspect food businesses on behalf of local authorities. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, inspections follow the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS). In Scotland, the Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS) uses a pass/fail system instead of a 0-5 rating.

Inspections are almost always unannounced. The inspector will walk through your premises, observe food handling practices, check temperatures, review your documentation, and speak with staff. The entire visit typically takes 1-3 hours.

Your food hygiene rating is determined by how you perform across three areas: hygienic food handling, cleanliness and condition of the premises, and confidence in management. The management category is where a strong HACCP plan and consistent record-keeping make the biggest difference.

What happens during an inspection — step by step

1. Arrival and introduction. The inspector identifies themselves and explains the purpose of the visit. They may ask to speak with the person in charge.
2. Walk-through observation. The inspector observes food handling in progress, checks storage arrangements, looks at hand washing practices, and notes the general condition of the premises.
3. Temperature checks. They will take their own temperature readings of fridges, freezers, hot-hold units, and potentially cooking/reheating processes. They compare these with your own temperature records.
4. Documentation review. The inspector reviews your HACCP plan, temperature logs, cleaning schedules, allergen records, training certificates, and any corrective action records.
5. Staff questions. They may ask food handlers about allergen procedures, hand washing, temperature control, and what they would do if something went wrong.
6. Feedback and report. At the end, the inspector provides verbal feedback and will later send a written report with the rating and any required improvements.

The most common reasons businesses lose marks

Based on inspection data and FSA reports, the most frequent issues that lower food hygiene ratings are:

• No HACCP plan or an outdated generic plan. This immediately reduces confidence in management. Use FiveRate to generate a tailored plan.
• Gaps in temperature records. Missing days, incomplete logs, or no evidence of corrective action when temperatures are out of range.
• Poor hand washing facilities. No soap, no hot water, or hand wash sinks blocked by equipment.
• Cross-contamination risks. Raw and ready-to-eat food stored together, shared chopping boards, or inadequate cleaning between tasks.
• No allergen information available. Staff unable to tell customers which dishes contain which allergens.
• Staff unable to explain food safety procedures. If your team cannot describe the controls, the inspector loses confidence.

How to prepare for every inspection (not just the next one)

The businesses that consistently score 5 do not prepare for inspections. They run compliant operations every day and the inspection simply confirms it. Here is how to build that consistency:

• Use a HACCP plan tailored to your business and review it whenever the menu changes
• Complete temperature logs at every opening and closing without exception
• Run daily opening and closing checklists — FiveRate automates these
• Keep your allergen matrix up to date and make sure all staff know where to find it
• Document corrective actions — when something goes wrong, record what happened and what you did about it
• Train staff regularly and keep the certificates accessible