Falkirk Council is part of the Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS), a national system involving all of Scotland's 32 councils supported by Food Standards Scotland (FSS).

Following routine food law inspections, businesses will be awarded an FHIS "Pass" or "Improvement Required" certificate to display to customers.

"Pass" means they meet the legal requirements for food hygiene.

"Improvement Required" means the business didn't meet the legal requirements and needs to make improvements.

As the display of the certificate is not a legal requirement, this information is also published on the Food Standards Scotland (FSS) website. Alternatively use the Find a hygiene rating for a food business page. The information for Falkirk Council food businesses is usually updated once a week.

The scheme is designed to encourage businesses to maintain food safety standards to achieve a Pass certificate, and give consumers' confidence when they go to buy food.

The scheme is targeted at any food businesses supplying directly to members of the public, and will include cafes, restaurants, takeaways, supermarkets, butchers, bakers and delis. A small number of businesses are exempt from the scheme, for example if they are low-risk in terms of food safety and you perhaps wouldn’t normally think of them as a food business.

Pass or Improvement Required certificates are only a reflection of the standards at the time of the last inspection by our officers. The responsibility for ensuring food safety every day remains with the food business operator and the staff working in the business.

Eat Safe Awards

The Eat Safe Award provides an incentive to food businesses to strive for food hygiene and food safety management standards beyond those required by law.

The list of businesses holding the Eat Safe Award within the Falkirk Council area is listed on the Food Standards Scotland website.

More information about the Eat Safe Awards is available from Food Standards Scotland or the Food & Safety team.