Build a better food business

We offer a number of very competitively priced consultancy led services to help you build a better food business. We are able to offer bespoke information and coaching for starting up a new food business or for improving your existing food business to help you achieve a better food hygiene rating.

Business start-up

By purchasing our New Business Start-Up package, you will receive direct advice on setting up your business safely from a highly qualified and experienced Environmental Health Officer. Once you have explained what food you are planning to sell and/or make, the officer will be able to assess what you’ll need to do to be compliant with the law during the early stages of your business’ development, and offer advice on any other ideas you might have.

This package costs £160.45 and includes the following:

• 2 hours of officer time. This can take the form of an on-site visit, scheduled meetings or advice – you decide. If you are unsure of what you want, you can talk to us about what we feel would be best for your needs. If you do not spend all of your allotted time with your officer, you can also use the remaining time to contact them for further advice directly.
• A personalised report by the officer who has worked with you. This report will help you by identifying areas for improvement, highlighting long-term goals for the business and offering advice on particular areas.

Coaching session

If you are struggling to keep a high Food Hygiene Rating, we can offer bespoke coaching sessions. These are for existing food businesses and are to be carried out at the business premises. The arranged coaching session will be carried out by a highly qualified and experienced Environmental Health Officer. The officer will view your business and any written systems you use as part of it, and will be able to determine what you would have to improve to achieve a higher rating.

These sessions cost £73.86 an hour, (minimum purchase 2 hours which can be used in increments of 1hr).

Food Hygiene Rating rescore revisit

If you have read through the information on the National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme webpages you may have decided that you would like to apply for a rescore revisit. If your business has undergone a Food Hygiene Inspection by one of our officers and received a score less than a ‘5’, the officer will have left a list of works for you to complete or will have sent you a letter of required works. If you feel you have completed those works, you can request the officer to return to carry out a re-scoring visit. This costs £213.93. Please see the 'Request a Rescore Revisit' details on the Food Hygiene Ratings - Information for Businesses webpage.

Your rescore will be based on the officer’s findings at the revisit. Just because you have applied for a rescore it does not necessarily mean you will be awarded a hygiene rating of ‘5’, it is your responsibility to complete all of the required actions and to maintain them.

Independent learning

If you are not sure whether the above services are relevant to you at this time, there are still actions you can take in order to build a better food business. Firstly, look at all of the information that was sent to you following your last food hygiene inspection and make sure you implement all of the changes that were advised by the Environmental Health Officer at that time. If you cannot find your last inspection report, contact foodhealth&safety@swindon.gov.uk for a copy. If you would like a printed copy, an administration charge will be applied.

Please also see the following useful information:

• Disposal of Fats, Oils, Grease and Food Waste (PDF)
• Design Criteria for New or Altered Catering Premises (PDF)
• E.coli Guidance on the Food Standards Agency website 
• Labelling and Allergens on the Food Standards Agency website 

Further information and costs

There is an administration fee of £49.67 if you require a printed copy of letters and report information which we previously sent to you as food business operator. If you would like to submit a paper copy of the food business registration form rather than using the online application there is a small administration charge of £22.93.

To request this information, to make payment, or to seek advice on any of the above information, please contact foodhealth&safety@swindon.gov.uk.