Would you pass if the EHO knocked today?
A free two-page walk-through from the team behind Hubl: the 24 checks that decide your rating, the four questions officers put to your team, and the exact temperatures they expect to see.
Not sure where you stand? Take the three-minute EHO readiness self-check first — sixteen questions, a score out of 100 and your three biggest gaps, no email needed.
What is inside
- ✓A 24-point walk-through across paperwork, premises and day-of-service practices — organised the way officers actually score you
- ✓The four questions officers ask your team, not you — rehearse them out loud before the visit
- ✓UK figures throughout — 5°C fridges, 75°C cooking, the 90-minute cooling rule, 63°C hot holding
- ✓A found-gaps action plan plus a printable notes section for your walk-through
Your day’s checks, ticked off in seconds — rated 5/5 on the App Store.
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What an EHO inspection checklist covers
An Environmental Health Officer scores three things: how food is handled, the condition of your premises, and how confident they are in your management and records. The checklist is organised the same way, so you walk your kitchen in the order the officer will. Here is a sample of the 24 checks.
A Paperwork and records
Where ratings are most often lost. Officers call it confidence in management.
- ✓FSMS or HACCP plan documented, reviewed in the last 12 months and matching your current menu
- ✓Temperature records complete for the last three months: fridges, freezers, cooking and hot holding
- ✓Allergen information current and matching today’s menu, recipes and suppliers
- plus pest control, cleaning schedules, supplier and delivery records, and closed actions from your last report
B Premises and equipment
The structural score. Fix the cheap, visible things first.
- ✓Handwash basins stocked with soap, paper towels and hot water, never blocked or used for anything else
- ✓Probe thermometers calibrated, with the check logged, and probe wipes available
- ✓Fridges at 5°C or below and freezers at −18°C or below right now, and not overloaded
- plus surfaces, equipment and waste areas
C Practices on the day
What the officer watches happening during service.
- ✓Deliveries checked and recorded at the door, with warm or damaged stock rejected
- ✓Cooking evidenced to 75°C or an equivalent time and temperature; hot holding at 63°C or above
- ✓Cooling within 90 minutes of cooking, then straight to the fridge
- plus separating raw and ready-to-eat food, date labels and personal hygiene
The four questions officers ask your team, not you
- “A customer says they have a nut allergy. Walk me through exactly what you do.”
- “A fridge is reading 9°C this morning. What happens next, and where is it recorded?”
- “Who is the food safety lead here, and where is the FSMS kept?”
- “When did you last do food hygiene training, and what did it cover?”
Rehearse them out loud. Officers ask the person on the section, not the manager, and a confident answer is worth more than a perfect folder.
EHO inspection questions, answered
What is an EHO inspection checklist?
A list of the checks an Environmental Health Officer makes during a food hygiene inspection, arranged so you can walk your own premises the way they will. It covers the records they ask for, the condition of the premises and equipment, and the practices they watch during service. Ours is 24 checks over two pages, plus the four questions officers put to your team, and takes about 30 minutes to complete.
What do EHOs check during a food hygiene inspection?
Three areas, which together make up your Food Hygiene Rating: hygienic food handling (cooking, cooling, storage and cross-contamination), the structure and cleanliness of the premises, and confidence in management, meaning your food safety management system, records, training and how well your team can answer questions. Missing or incomplete paperwork is the most common reason ratings drop, which is why the checklist starts there.
Do EHOs give notice before an inspection?
Routine inspections are usually unannounced. How often they happen depends on the risk rating the officer gives your business: higher-risk businesses can be inspected every six months, lower-risk ones every couple of years or longer. That is why the checklist is designed to be repeated, not completed once and filed.
Can you lose marks on paperwork alone?
Yes. Confidence in management is one of the three scores, and it is assessed on evidence: a documented FSMS, temperature records, allergen information, cleaning schedules and training records. A clean kitchen with gaps in its records can still be marked down, because the officer has no proof the good practice happens every day, not just on the day they visited.
What temperatures does an EHO expect to see?
The checklist uses the figures officers work to in England: fridges at 5°C or below as best practice, freezers at −18°C or below, cooking to 75°C or an equivalent time and temperature, hot holding at 63°C or above, and cooling within 90 minutes of cooking before food goes into the fridge. Every one of them needs a record to prove it, which is where digital temperature logs earn their keep.
Want to see how your kitchen scores? Download the free checklist and walk it this week, or start a free Hubl trial and let the records take care of themselves.
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Hubl keeps the temperature logs, allergen matrix, training records and audit trail this checklist asks for — organised, timestamped and always inspection-ready.
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