How to prepare for a home kitchen hygiene inspection

What is a Home Kitchen Inspection?

One of the benefits of running your own small or home-based catering businesses is that you're generally able to enjoy greater flexibility and scope to run the business your own way than larger organisations. When you're working for yourself, it's much easier to be agile, and too make your own independent decisions about how you want to run your kitchen and prepare your recipes.

However, it's important to remember that on issues of food safety and hygiene, the same rules apply to businesses of all sizes. Whether it's a global restaurant chain or a homemade cupcake business, environmental health officers will be expecting to see the same standard of food safety management, so if you're operating in this sector you should always be prepared for regular inspections designed to demonstrate that your kitchen is up to standard.

How often are Food Hygiene Inspections?

Kitchen inspections can be conducted at any time and the frequency of inspection can be increased depending on the potential risks to customers your business presents. You may be able to reduce the frequency of visits if you are registered with a recognised assurance scheme.

If you want more information on Food Hygiene Inspections check out our full article here.

Top Tips for preparing for a home kitchen inspection.

These tips will help you to prepare for your EHO home kitchen inspection and ensure your inspection goes smoothly.

Clean your workplace – Ensure you workplace is spotless from outside to in. Inspectors will be looking out for how clean your workplace is from the moment they arrive. This means you should check the outside of your premises is clean including windows, doors and walkways. Make a good first impression and show that it’s not just the kitchen that’s spotless but the entire workplace.
Check the condition of your equipment – Inspectors are also looking at the safety levels within your workplace so ensure you have fully checked your equipment and fixed any faults including sharp edges, faulty power sockets, damaged equipment and inaccurate instruments.
Ensure access to ventilation, drainage and hand washing facilities - These facilities which enable and support good hygiene will be on the inspector’s checklist. Ensure these areas are well maintained and are easily accessible. Lighting is also inspected so check they’re working and provide enough light, and get some spare bulbs (just in case).
Get your paperwork in order – A critical aspect of your inspection is making sure your paperwork is complete and well-maintained. This normally happens at the very beginning of the inspection, so make sure your HACCP documents are ready for review and you can talk through your entire HACCP procedure with the inspector.
Clean your storage areas – Finally inspectors will want to see where you store and prepare food. Make sure you thoroughly clean your prep and storage areas including any vehicles you use to transport your products.

The prospect of a kitchen inspection can be intimidating to smaller business owners, but in reality, these procedures need not be anything more than a routine formality for a properly-run catering business that meets its food safety obligations as a matter of course.

What will the inspectors be looking for?

The simplest way to ensure a successful kitchen inspection is to keep abreast of the most important health and hygiene standards and make sure that your business keeps on top of these obligations on a regular basis.

The Nationwide Caterers Association (NCASS) provides the following checklist of requirements that inspectors will be looking for when visiting your premises:

A completed, signed and dated food safety management system
Adequate facilities for washing and drying hands
A food preparation sink
A suitably equipped first aid kit
A probe thermometer
Fire protective equipment
Proof of registration with the environmental health department
A clean, tidy and safe workspace that's protected from pests and bacteria
Proper ventilation
Refrigeration facilities
The necessary cleaning equipment
Waste disposal facilities
Temperature control and segregation tools for foods that should be stored apart
Drinkable hot and cold water
High personal hygiene standards for all staff, with appropriate training
Protective clothing where necessary

The overall aim, therefore, will be to demonstrate that your premises is clean and fit for purpose; that the foods you prepare are hygienically prepared and fit the descriptions you have provided; that your working practices are in line with industry expectations; and that all staff have the training they need to do their jobs in a way that's safe for them and your customers.

It's important to keep these objectives at the forefront of your approach to kitchen management at all times, because there's no way to fake this. Whether it's a routine inspection or a response to a complaint, environmental health inspectors generally visit without providing advance notice, so there won't be time to sweep anything under the carpet. You have to make sure that you're always ready to show your kitchen working at its very best.

What happens next?

Once the inspection has taken place, businesses that serve or supply food direct to the public will be awarded a score from zero to five under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, with an accompanying sticker or certificate to allow the company to show its score to the public.

Those that achieve perfect scores of five out of five will be able to proudly display their certification, and enjoy the reputational gains that come with it. Businesses that underperform, however, may be handed a low score and asked to make changes or improvements to the way they run their kitchen before they are allowed to reopen.

NCASS states that any score of three or below should be considered very undesirable, but even in these cases, it's always possible to improve over time. If your kitchen isn't meeting the required standards the first time it's inspected, you should take the time to consider any areas for improvement highlighted by the inspector, and to work hard on these to make sure you're better placed to achieve a high score the next time.

Achieving the best possible outcome

Of course, any home catering business should be aspiring to score a five out of five score on every inspection, so it's worth thinking about the most basic principles and pieces of advice that could bring your kitchen another step closer to optimal performance.

Here are a few general tips on how to make the best possible impression when inspection time rolls around:

Keep the inside and outside of the premises tidy as a matter of course - first impressions count for a lot!
Take the time to develop a comprehensive food safety management system
Make sure your food preparation workflows prioritise safety and hygiene as a first priority
Engage your staff on the importance of safety and hygiene with a comprehensive training programme - and keep a documented record of having done so
Work with the inspectors when they are on-site, ask plenty of questions on how to improve, and take any action they recommend as promptly as you can

By taking these ideas to heart, you'll be able to make sure that your kitchen is running as safely, efficiently and hygienically as anyone could expect, laying a strong foundation for many years of sustainable success for your catering business.