UK food hygiene rating data API
Terms and conditions
About the data
The data provide the food hygiene rating or inspection result given to a business and reflect the standards of food hygiene found on the date of inspection or visit by the local authority. Businesses include restaurants, pubs, cafés, takeaways, hotels and other places consumers eat, as well as supermarkets and other food shops.
The data are held on behalf of local authorities participating in either the Food Standards Agency's:
- national Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, or
- the Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS) in Scotland
Data are only available for local authority areas running either of these schemes. See a list of local authorities running the FHRS or FHIS
System status
Status updates, usage advice and various other pieces of current information can be found at the System Status Page.
API guidance for developers
The API allows developers access to the underlying food hygiene rating data published at www.food.gov.uk/ratings. Developers can query XML files to return the geocoded data (longitude and latitude data are provided for food businesses). The XML data are updated daily and can be found below, grouped by local authority. Wales's local authority data can be output in English or Welsh.
The API can also be used to query the live system (the data are automatically updated as local authorities upload and publish data) and return data in XML and JSON formats.
Examples of how to use the API and information about the API can be found in the guidance document for developers:
Images
A set of hygiene rating images is available to be used with the API data. The images must only be used in accordance with the FHRS/FHIS Brand Standard and the terms and conditions.
Examples of hygiene rating images, and the sizes available, that can be used with the API data:
Legacy online rating images
The previous version of the online ratings has now been retired. Please use the images provided above.
Score descriptors
Downloading data from the FHRS search results page
When you search for hygiene ratings on www.food.gov.uk/ratings, you can download the search results at the bottom of the page.
Number of results
You can download up to 5,000 results by entering a number between 1 and 5,000 in the 'Number of results' field.
If you need to download more than 5,000 results, in the 'Number of results' field enter 5,000, then enter each 'Page number' 1, 2 etc until all results are downloaded.
Data formats
Data can be downloaded in XML and JSON format.
To convert the data into excel format use the following guidance:
Microsoft support page: Open an XML data file to import its data into Excel(Opens in a new tab)
To merge multiple Excel files into a single file use the following guidance:
Microsoft support page: Import data from a folder with multiple files(Opens in a new tab)
Downloadable XML data files (updated daily)
Food hygiene rating data, grouped by local authority, can be downloaded in XML format via the links below. The data, which can also be queried by the API, is updated daily.