Blog
Practical writing on inspections, ratings and running a safe kitchen — from someone who's done the job.
Temperature Logging Best Practice: What the FSA Actually Requires
The actual UK temperature requirements for chilling, cooking, and hot holding food, and how often you genuinely need to log them.
7 Food Hygiene Rating Mistakes Independent Restaurants Keep Making
The most common, avoidable reasons independent UK restaurants lose food hygiene rating points — and what to fix first.
How to Handle a Food Safety Corrective Action (Without Panicking)
What to actually do when a food safety check fails — fridge too warm, food undercooked, a missed step — and how to record it the right way.
Running the kitchenAllergen Management for UK Restaurants: Getting Natasha's Law Right
What UK allergen law actually requires of restaurants and cafes, how Natasha's Law changed prepacked food rules, and a practical checklist to stay compliant.
Paper vs Digital Food Safety Diaries: Which Is Right for Your Kitchen?
An honest comparison of paper and digital SFBB diaries for UK restaurants — what each actually solves, and where each one quietly fails.
What Does an EHO Actually Look For? An Inspection Checklist
A walk-through of what an Environmental Health Officer actually checks during a UK food hygiene inspection, in the order they usually check it.
How to Get a 5-Star Food Hygiene Rating: A Practical Checklist
How UK food hygiene ratings are actually scored, and a practical checklist independent restaurants can use to aim for a 5 before their next inspection.
What Is SFBB (Safer Food Better Business) and Do You Actually Need It?
SFBB explained in plain English: what Safer Food Better Business actually is, who legally needs one, and how it works day to day in a UK kitchen.
Inspection & ratingsThe best digital SFBB and food safety apps in 2026 — an honest comparison
The categories of food-safety software on the market, what actually matters, and why Rated5 comes out ahead — checked 17/07/2026.
Inspection & ratingsWhat EHOs actually look at in your diary
The inspection isn't a mystery. Officers work through the same SFBB sections you do — what they check first, and why gaps matter most.
Running the kitchenThe four-weekly review, without the dread
The review exists to catch drift before the EHO does. Ten minutes, once a month — here's a routine that actually sticks.
Running the kitchenCooling: the check kitchens most often miss
Cooked, covered, forgotten. Why the 90-minute cooling window slips through busy services, and how to make it automatic.
Product updatesAn optional HACCP module, for premises that need it
Some premises need full HACCP rather than SFBB. The new module lets you build your hazard plan in Rated5 and keep the same daily logging.
Inspection & ratingsHow food hygiene ratings are scored
Hygiene, structure, and confidence in management — the three scores behind the sticker, and why the third one is where diaries matter.
Running the kitchenProbe calibration in two minutes
Ice point, boiling point, done. A weekly habit that makes every reading in your diary defensible.
Product updatesInspection mode: read-only, on purpose
Why the screen you hand the EHO can't edit anything — and how that builds confidence in your records.