Navigating Ealing EHO inspections with confidence
Independent food safety and HACCP support for Ealing food businesses — built around the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) and how Ealing Council Regulatory Services actually inspects.
How food hygiene inspections work in London
London boroughs run some of the busiest Environmental Health teams in the country, and inspections are unannounced. High customer turnover, dense kitchens and heavy reliance on delivery platforms mean a single slipped control can show up quickly on your public FHRS score.
We build your HACCP, allergen controls and inspection readiness around how your specific borough team actually works — so the rating on your door reflects the kitchen you run on a normal Tuesday, not just on inspection day.
Ealing sits at the heart of West London's food production and logistics corridor, home to a dense concentration of dark kitchens, central manufacturing units, and large-scale event catering operations where output volumes and multi-site cold-chain management make systematic HACCP documentation essential. Ealing Council Regulatory Services applies the same rigour to production facilities as it does to front-of-house businesses — and a score below a 4 on the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme carries commercial consequences that extend well beyond the local high street, including reduced visibility on delivery platforms such as Deliveroo and Uber Eats, which surface FHRS scores to diners at the point of ordering.
The rating scheme
Ealing is assessed under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) — a 0–5 score, where 5 is "very good" and anything below 4 sits beneath the threshold most diners look for. Your score is published on the FSA's public register at ratings.food.gov.uk as soon as the inspection is signed off.
Displaying your result
Displaying your sticker is voluntary in England, but Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat now surface FHRS scores in their apps, and most London diners check a rating before they book.
The legal standard
Compliance in Ealing is set by the Food Safety Act 1990 and assimilated Regulation (EC) 852/2004, enforced by your London borough's Environmental Health team.
What is your current rating costing you?
52% of UK diners only book where the hygiene rating is 4 or above. A rating below that quietly excludes you from a large share of the market — every month it’s on display.
The 4+ Rating Threshold
52% of UK diners only book where the FSA hygiene rating is 4 or above. Below 4, half your potential market filters you out before they ever read your menu.
Rising Vigilance
55% of UK consumers checked a hygiene rating in the last 12 months — up from 41% pre‑pandemic. The audience watching is growing.
Rating Reality Calculator
See what your current rating is costing you in Ealing
Select your rating and enter revenue to see your cost
From flagged to inspection-ready
Drag to see the difference a structured plan makes for a Ealing kitchen — from the issues an inspector flags to a clean, organised, inspection-ready operation. Most kitchens need better records, controls and housekeeping, not a costly refit.
Inspection-ready
Flagged at inspectionHow this plays out in Ealing
A food production business supplying contract catering across multiple London venues came to us when Ealing Council Regulatory Services identified inconsistencies in their HACCP records during a routine inspection — gaps that reflected a system built around a smaller operation that had since grown significantly. We restructured their food safety management from the ground up, aligning documentation with actual production volumes and workflows, and supported their team through the re-inspection process, leaving them with a robust, auditable system that reflects how they genuinely operate.
This scenario is a composite based on typical engagements Kitchen Tonic handles for UK food businesses — not a specific named client.
Ealing food safety: your questions
Food safety support across London
We cover food businesses throughout London. See our London food safety hub or another area below.