Guide · EHO report · FHRS
A report is a structured to-do list, not just a verdict. Here is how to sort the notices from the advice, group the findings, and convert the structure actions into a clean.
The short answer
An EHO report is not just a verdict - it is a structured list of what was wrong and what to do about it. Read it the right way and it converts straight into a prioritised cleaning and compliance plan.
After an inspection you receive a written report setting out the findings and the corrective actions the officer expects, area by area. The skill is sorting those actions into what a deep clean fixes, what a repair fixes, and what your systems and team must fix - then working them in priority order.
Read it properly
First, separate the urgent from the routine. Most points are advisory actions for improvement, but a report can also carry formal notices, and those are not optional:
Then group every remaining action by the three scored areas: food handling, structure and cleanliness, and confidence in management. That grouping is what turns a wall of findings into a plan, because each group is fixed in a different way.
Build the plan
The structure and cleanliness actions are the ones a deep clean resolves directly - grease on the canopy, filters and fan; soil behind and under equipment; high-level dust; dirty drains; tired seals. List them out of the report exactly as written and hand them to your cleaning contractor, so the clean targets the specific points you lost marks on rather than cleaning generically. If extraction was named, make sure the work is to TR19 grease standard and that you get the certificate, since the officer can ask to see it.
The handling actions become operational fixes and staff briefings; the management actions become updates to your food safety system and records. Give everything a date and an owner, do the work, and keep the evidence - dated photographs for the clean, updated diary pages for the system. When the actions are genuinely done and embedded, you are ready to request a re-inspection. A report read this way stops being a scolding and becomes the clearest improvement plan you will get, written by the person who will mark you next.
Questions
A written record of the findings and the corrective actions the officer expects, set out area by area. It can include advisory actions for improvement and, for serious issues, formal notices with legal deadlines.
A legal requirement to fix a specific failing within a set deadline, commonly 14 to 28 days. It is not advisory - failing to comply can lead to prosecution, so these actions come first in your plan.
A notice used where there is an imminent risk to health - such as a serious pest problem or no working hand basin. It can close part or all of the business immediately until the risk is resolved.
Group the actions by the three scored areas, then pull the structure and cleanliness points into a deep-clean brief - grease, behind and under equipment, high level, drains. Hand them to your contractor exactly as written so the clean targets what you lost marks on.
Yes. A contractor who can see the exact actions clears those specific points rather than cleaning generically. If extraction was flagged, make sure the work is to TR19 standard and you receive the certificate.
Dated before-and-after photographs for the cleaning, updated diary and records for the management actions, and the TR19 certificate for extraction. That evidence supports your case at the re-inspection.
Phoenix Duct Clean · by the numbers
Send us the points as written. We clear the exact items - extraction, behind and under equipment, high level - to standard, with dated evidence. Ask for a quote.