What is a Hygiene & Cleanliness Audit?
A hygiene audit reviews your cleaning systems and practices, with special focus on high-risk zones (e.g. kitchens, bathrooms) against legal, internal and industry benchmarks (e.g. FSA, CQC). We use bioluminescent testing to instantly validate cleaning effectiveness and share visual results with your team.
How Our Audit Works
- We define the areas to inspect (kitchens, clinical zones, communal spaces, etc.).
- We review your existing policies: HACCP, infection control, and contractor standards.
- Using planned or surprise visits, we take swab samples via bioscanning to check for residual contamination (ATP).
- We report findings clearly, highlighting compliance, risks and actionable improvements.
- Optionally, we integrate the testing into staff training to reinforce standards in real time.
What You’ll Get
On-site assessment by a qualified advisor
Full inspection of catering and relevant facilities
Day-of bioscanning results
Clear, practical report on compliance and needed fixes
Optional ongoing spot checks or unannounced visits
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s a rapid swab-based test that detects ATP (present in all living cells). High ATP levels signal poor cleanliness even where surfaces look clean, helping pinpoint where deeper cleaning or disinfection is needed.
Yes, we can carry out surprise visits or scheduled audits depending on what suits you best.
Yes, we review your existing policies such as HACCP, infection control, cleaning contracts and training records to benchmark your systems.
Bioscanning results are available on the same day, and you’ll receive a full report shortly thereafter.
Anyone concerned with hygiene, healthcare, food service, residential care, communal facilities, and public venues can gain from our audits.
That depends on your risk level, operations and regulatory requirements. Many clients opt for quarterly or spot audits to maintain consistency.
Our Client Cases
Hidden Risks Behind Five-Star Ratings: A Hygiene Audit in Care Homes
Client Brief: A client asked PHSC
to conduct Hygiene and Cleanliness Audits across several care homes and day centres.
Although all sites held five-star Food Safety ratings, they had not undergone independent hygiene audits to verify real-world cleaning effectiveness and staff consistency.
Findings: Our audit revealed several critical issues:
- Inconsistent food labelling practices: Staff were using different systems for day-dating food, which risked expired items being served, a serious concern in environments with vulnerable residents.
- Equipment washing failures: At one site, a broken dishwasher meant staff were washing items by hand. Bioscanning revealed high contamination readings (up to 260 ATP where safe levels are <27), showing sanitising steps were being missed.
- High contamination on touch points: Swabbing of a kitchen door handle produced a reading of 1282 ATP (acceptable level <300), despite the surface appearing clean.
Following on-site training and demonstration of proper sanitising procedures, repeat bioscanning showed safe, compliant results.
The client has now implemented quarterly unannounced audits to monitor standards and maintain consistency across all sites.
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The Old Church | 31 Rochester Road | Aylesford |Kent | ME20 7PR
