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Eduqas Level 1/2 Hospitality and Catering (5409) · Spec 1.4.4

The Environmental Health Officer

Read the notes, then try the questions. Each one is marked the moment you press Check, and shows the right answer and why.

Key ideas

  • An EHO works for the local council and protects public health by checking that food businesses keep to food safety law.
  • They inspect premises, storage, temperatures, cleaning, pest control, staff hygiene and records. Inspections can be routine or unannounced. They give a food hygiene rating from 0 to 5. 0 means urgent improvement is needed. 5 means very good.
  • They collect evidence: food samples for testing, photographs, interviews with staff and customers, records and documents.
  • They follow up complaints and outbreaks of food poisoning to find the source and stop more people becoming ill.
  • Enforcement usually starts with advice or a warning. If problems continue, the EHO can serve an improvement notice that says what must be fixed and by when. Where there is an imminent risk to health, they can close the premises. They do not close a business just because its rating is low.
  • If the owner keeps ignoring notices, the business can be taken to court. The EHO writes reports and gives evidence.

Key terms

EHO
Environmental Health Officer. Employed by the local council to inspect food businesses.
Food hygiene rating
A score from 0 to 5 showing how hygienic a business is.
Improvement notice
A written notice saying what must be put right and by when.
Evidence
Samples, photographs, interviews and records that can be used in court.
Outbreak
When several people become ill from the same source.
Prosecution
Taking a business to court for breaking the law.

Common mistakes

  • Saying an EHO works for the police or the government in general. They work for the local council.
  • Saying the EHO closes a business on every visit. Advice and warnings come first.
  • Thinking a rating of 5 is about taste. It is hygiene only.
  • Giving a list of what the EHO does with no 'why it matters'. Top-level answers explain the effect.

Exam tip

The EHO is the 8-mark Discuss topic that keeps returning in Unit 1. Cover range and depth: inspect, collect evidence, advise, enforce and take to court, and say why each matters for public health. Apply it to the business in the scenario.

Free practice questions

7 questions, 16 marks. Answer, then press Check. The marking guide explains how the marks are worked out. Nothing is saved.

  1. Question 1 · Multiple choice[1 mark]

    Which organisation employs an Environmental Health Officer to inspect food businesses?

  2. Question 2 · Multiple choice[1 mark]

    A business is given a hygiene rating of 0. What does this mean?

  3. Question 3 · Fill the gaps[1 mark]

    The food hygiene rating scheme gives a rating from ___ to 5.

    Word bank: 0 · 3 · 10 · 1

  4. Question 4 · Matching[4 marks]

    Match each food hygiene rating to its meaning.

  5. Question 5 · Sort into groups[6 marks]

    Sort each job into the correct group: done by the EHO, or done by the kitchen staff.

    Takes a food sample for testing

    Cleans the work surfaces

    Gives a food hygiene rating

    Issues an improvement notice

    Records the fridge temperature each day

    Stores raw meat on the bottom shelf

  6. Question 6 · Fill the gaps[1 mark]

    An EHO gives a business a written ___ notice saying what must be put right and by when.

    Word bank: court · rating · improvement · sample

  7. Question 7 · Put in order[2 marks]

    Put the EHO's actions in the usual order when a business keeps failing to put things right, from first to last.

    Use the arrows to put these in the right order, first at the top.

    1. 1Advice or warning
    2. 2Improvement notice
    3. 3Prosecution in court
    4. 4Revisit to check the notice