Read the Sticker Before the Menu: How Food Hygiene Ratings Should Shape Your Catering Shortlist

Every caterer can put on a good tasting. The canapés arrive at the right temperature, the conversation flows, and the menu ideas feel tailored to your event. What the tasting cannot show you is the state of the van the food travels in, the temperature logs behind the scenes, or whether the kitchen that produced those perfect canapés has ever had an unannounced inspection.

That is where the paperwork comes in. For event planners and office managers booking corporate catering across the UK, a few minutes of due diligence can be the difference between a flawless function and a very awkward conversation with HR the following week.

What the Green Score Actually Means

The Food Standards Agency's Food Hygiene Rating Scheme runs from 0 to 5, and it is public information. Any food business in England, Wales and Northern Ireland can be looked up on the FSA website in seconds, and Scottish businesses hold an equivalent 'Pass' or 'Improvement Required' status under a separate scheme.

A rating of 5 means 'very good' across three inspection areas: hygienic food handling, the physical condition of the premises, and food safety management. A 4 is still solid, but it is worth asking what the deduction related to — a chipped tiled wall is a very different matter from a gap in temperature monitoring.

Two things are worth remembering. First, ratings reflect the last inspection, which may have been several years ago, so ask when it took place. Second, a brand-new business may not yet have been rated at all. That is not automatically a red flag, but it does shift the burden of proof onto the caterer to demonstrate their standards another way.

Beyond the Score: Accreditations That Carry Weight

For caterers operating at events rather than fixed premises, additional credentials matter. SALSA accreditation — originally developed for the food supply chain — demonstrates that a business has been audited by an independent expert against rigorous food safety standards. For event catering, where food is produced off-site, transported and finished at a venue, this kind of third-party verification fills the gaps a static inspection cannot.

Also worth asking about:

• Level 3 food hygiene qualifications among supervisory staff, not just basic Level 2 certificates
• Membership of a trade body such as the Events Caterers Association, which requires members to meet documented standards
• Public liability and product liability insurance, and whether the caterer will share certificates on request
• A written food safety management system, such as a HACCP-based plan, rather than a verbal assurance that 'everything's handled properly'

A confident caterer will produce this documentation without hesitation. Any reluctance to share it should be treated as information in itself.

The Allergen Conversation: A Test of Competence

Since Natasha's Law came into force in 2021, businesses selling pre-packed for direct sale food must label it with a full ingredient list. But for event catering, the obligations run deeper and broader, and the way a caterer handles your allergen questions is one of the most revealing tests available to you.

Ask a shortlisted caterer how they manage a guest with a severe nut allergy, or a coeliac, across a 200-cover buffet. A competent operation will describe a clear process: ingredient documentation from suppliers, dedicated preparation areas or schedules, clear labelling at service, and briefed waiting staff. A vague answer — 'we can probably do something gluten-free' — tells you everything you need to know.

This matters commercially as well as ethically. Corporate clients in particular carry reputational exposure if a guest is made ill, and insurers increasingly scrutinise allergen procedures when claims arise.

Red Flags Worth Heeding

Alongside the positives to look for, a few warning signs recur:

• A rating of 3 or below, or a business that cannot say when it was last inspected
• No written allergen policy available on request
• Refusal to discuss where food is prepared, stored or transported
• Quotes that seem implausibly cheap, which often signal corners cut on sourcing, staffing or refrigeration
• No sample contract or cancellation terms, suggesting an informal operation behind a polished website

None of these alone proves a problem, but together they paint a picture that no tasting can disguise.

Paperwork and Plates: You Need Both

To be clear, none of this replaces the tasting. Food that arrives cold, presentations that lack ambition and menus that feel generic will sink an event just as surely as poor hygiene will. The point is that the two assessments answer different questions. The tasting answers: can they cook? The documentation answers: can they be trusted?

The strongest shortlists contain caterers who pass both. So before your next corporate function, spend twenty minutes on the FSA website, request the allergen pack, and ask the awkward questions early. Any caterer worth booking will welcome the scrutiny — because they have nothing to hide, and everything to show.