SAFE Framework grading review

A check-in on your grading under SFA’s SAFE Framework (Safety Assurance For Establishments), which went live in Phase 1 on 19 January 2026. The grading is not a single annual snapshot — it builds from your inspection and demerit-point track record over time, so this reminder is really a prompt to review that record regularly rather than a one-off certificate renewal. Kitchens of 16m² or more sit in SAFE Framework Category 1. Phase 2, which SFA has said only will land "by 2027" with no firm date yet, is expected to add Food Safety Management System implications — that is not in effect yet, so don’t plan around it as if it already applies.

Your SAFE grading and its underlying demerit points affect how you’re perceived by customers and how SFA prioritises inspections. Because the grading is track-record based, a demerit point picked up months ago can still be shaping your current standing — leaving it unreviewed means you find out about a problem only when it’s already affected your grade.

Watch out for

• Treating this like a fixed annual certificate renewal — the grading is built from an ongoing track record, so a review only every 12 months can miss problems accumulating in between.
• Assuming Phase 2’s Food Safety Management System implications are already in force — SFA has only committed to "by 2027" with no confirmed date, so don’t build a compliance plan around requirements that aren’t live yet.
• Not connecting demerit points from unrelated lapses (a missed pest visit, an exhaust degrease running late) to this grading — those are exactly the kind of records that feed into it.

Sources

• SFA — Understanding the SAFE Framework checked 2026-09-08
• SFA — Understanding the Points Demerit System (PDS) checked 2026-09-08

See also

• Kitchen exhaust duct degrease
• Pest control visits
• Food Hygiene Officer refresher