Food Hygiene Rating Scheme Audit of Display and Business Survey 2021: Technical report
FHRS Audit 2021 Technical report: Audit fieldwork
Information on the audit fieldwork completed to ensure that the questionnaire designed for the audit of food businesses was appropriate.
Pilot fieldwork
To ensure the questionnaire designed for the audit of food businesses was appropriate ahead of mainstage fieldwork, pilot audit fieldwork was conducted between October 21st and October 27th, 2021. In total, 27 audits of food businesses were conducted during the pilot. Table 3.1 presents the number of interviews completed by county, sector and FHRS rating.
Table 3.1 Profile of pilot audits of food businesses
Country
| Country | Completed interviews |
|---|---|
| England | 7 |
| Northern Ireland | 10 |
| Wales | 10 |
Sector
| Sector | Completed interviews |
|---|---|
| Accommodation | 0 |
| Pubs, bars and nightclubs | 0 |
| Restaurants, cafes and canteens | 7 |
| Retail | 16 |
| Takeaways and sandwich shops | 4 |
| Other catering premises | 0 |
FHRS rating
| FHRS rating | Completed interviews |
|---|---|
| 0-2 | 3 |
| 3 | 5 |
| 4 | 5 |
| 5 | 14 |
Prior to the commencement of pilot fieldwork all auditors received a briefing on the survey and were issued with written instructions, providing them with an understanding of the background to the research, the questionnaire design, the screening criteria, and the sample design.
The questionnaire performed well during the pilot. However, one minor adjustment was made: a question was added to collect information about the display of FHRS ratings on food business’s websites. The final version of the questionnaire used in mainstage fieldwork can be found in Appendix A of this report.
Mainstage fieldwork
Mainstage audit fieldwork took place between November 3rd and December 8th, 2021. In total, 1,522 audits were completed. The final profile of the audits achieved by country, sector and FHRS rating and country is detailed in Table 3.2.
Table 3.2 Profile of mainstage audits of food businesses
Country
| Country | Completed interviews |
|---|---|
| England | 502 |
| Northern Ireland | 505 |
| Wales | 515 |
Sector
| Sector | Completed interviews |
|---|---|
| Accommodation | 74 |
| Pubs, bars and nightclubs | 216 |
| Restaurants, cafes and canteens | 522 |
| Retail | 439 |
| Takeaways and sandwich shops | 235 |
| Other catering premises | 36 |
FHRS rating
| FHRS rating | Completed interviews |
|---|---|
| 0 to 1 | 26 |
| 2 | 21 |
| 3 | 136 |
| 4 | 335 |
| 5 | 1,004 |
As with the pilot, prior to commencement of mainstage fieldwork all auditors received a briefing on the survey and were issued with written instructions. This ensured that interviewers understood the background to the research, the questionnaire design, the screening criteria, and the sample design.
During mainstage fieldwork there were some instances where it was not possible to conduct an audit. The main reasons for this included establishments being closed within their advertised opening hours, establishments no longer being in business and establishments not being publicly accessible. Where it was not possible to complete an audit, auditors were given the details of a new establishment to audit, which met the same criteria in terms of region, outlet type and FHRS rating.
It should also be noted that in many instances, owing to the location of display and the need to conduct audits covertly, auditors were unable to collect the date on the back of FHRS stickers. Audits were still completed in such circumstances.