What Happens If You Fail an EHO Inspection for Your Kitchen Extraction?

An unexpected visit from an Environmental Health Officer is one of the more stressful experiences for any restaurant owner or kitchen manager. And while much of the EHO inspection focuses on food hygiene, temperature control, and pest management, your extraction and ventilation system is very much on their radar — and a dirty or poorly maintained system can have serious consequences for your business.

Here's what EHOs actually look for when it comes to extraction, what happens if they find a problem, and what you can do to make sure you're never caught out.

What Do EHOs Look for in Your Extraction System?

Environmental Health Officers inspecting a commercial kitchen will typically assess the extraction system as part of their evaluation of the overall kitchen environment. The specific things they look for include:

Visible Grease Build-Up

An officer doesn't need specialist equipment to spot a problem. If your canopy filters are coated in grease, if there's visible residue around the fan housing, or if grease is dripping from ductwork joints, that's an immediate red flag. Grease build-up is a fire hazard, a hygiene concern, and evidence that the system is not being properly maintained.

TR19 Cleaning Certificates

EHOs can ask to see your TR19 certificates of hygiene as documentary evidence that the system has been cleaned to the required standard and frequency. If you can't produce them, or if the most recent certificate is significantly out of date, that will be noted in the inspection report and may result in a formal requirement to address it.

General Condition of the System

Beyond cleanliness, the officer may note whether access panels are present and in good condition, whether filters are intact, and whether the fan appears to be functioning correctly. A system with missing access hatches, damaged filters, or obviously poor airflow is a compliance issue regardless of when it was last cleaned.

Odour and Smoke Control

If your extraction system is not performing adequately — resulting in smoke, steam, or cooking odours escaping into the dining area or neighbouring premises — this is both a nuisance issue and a potential public health concern. EHOs can investigate complaints from neighbouring properties and will take action if your system is the cause.

What Are the Consequences of Failing an EHO Inspection?

The outcome of an EHO inspection failure depends on the severity of what the officer finds. The range of possible outcomes runs from a verbal advisory at one end to legal enforcement action at the other.

Improvement Notice

This is the most common outcome for extraction-related issues. An improvement notice requires you to take specific remedial action within a set timeframe — typically 14 to 28 days. For extraction, this usually means arranging a TR19-compliant clean and providing the certificate as evidence of completion. Failure to comply with an improvement notice within the stated deadline is a criminal offence.

Reduced Food Hygiene Rating

The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme rates businesses on a scale from 0 to 5. The rating is published on the Food Standards Agency website and, for businesses in England, you are encouraged (and in Wales and Northern Ireland, required) to display it prominently. A poor rating directly affects consumer trust and footfall. Many customers, booking platforms, and food delivery aggregators now actively filter by hygiene rating. A 0, 1, or 2 is damaging to your business and difficult to recover from quickly.

Prohibition Notice

In more serious cases — where the officer considers that there is an imminent risk to public health — they can issue a prohibition notice requiring you to stop using specific equipment or processes, or in extreme cases, to close the premises entirely until the issue is resolved. For extraction, this might apply where a system is so badly deteriorated that it presents an immediate fire or health risk.

Prosecution

Where there are repeated or serious breaches of food hygiene law, EHOs can recommend prosecution. In the context of extraction maintenance, this is unlikely to be the first response, but persistent failure to comply with improvement notices can escalate to this point. Penalties for food safety offences can include unlimited fines and, in serious cases, imprisonment.

What About Your Insurance?

An EHO inspection failure for extraction issues creates a separate but related risk for your insurance cover. Most commercial kitchen policies include a condition requiring extraction systems to be maintained and cleaned in line with TR19. If your insurer becomes aware — through a claim investigation or otherwise — that your system was not being maintained at the required frequency, they may seek to reduce or reject a claim on the basis that you were in breach of policy conditions.

This risk is most acute in the event of a fire. If a fire investigation determines that grease build-up in the extraction system was a contributing factor, and you cannot demonstrate TR19 compliance, the insurance consequences can be severe.

What Should You Do If You've Received an Improvement Notice?

If you've received an improvement notice relating to your extraction system, the priority is to act quickly and generate a paper trail that demonstrates compliance. In practical terms, that means:

1. Book a TR19-compliant clean immediately — ideally with a BESA-certified contractor who can issue the certificate on the day of the clean.
2. Get the certificate to the issuing officer — provide the signed TR19 certificate and accompanying photographic evidence before the deadline stated on the improvement notice.
3. Address any defects noted in the inspection — if the officer identified damaged access panels, missing filters, or a failing fan unit, these need to be rectified as well as the cleaning.
4. Set up a regular cleaning schedule — don't let it lapse again. A service contract with scheduled cleaning dates provides ongoing compliance without the risk of letting it slip.

How Fan Rescue Can Help

Fan Rescue carries out urgent TR19-compliant extraction cleans across London and the South East. If you've received an improvement notice, failed an inspection, or simply need to get your documentation in order before an upcoming visit, we can typically arrange a clean within a few days — and in some cases, the same week for urgent situations.

We are BESA-certified (HV020676), issue TR19 certificates on the day of the clean, and provide full photographic documentation. Our certificates are accepted by all major commercial property insurers and are valid for EHO and fire safety purposes.

We also offer ongoing service contracts with scheduled cleaning at the correct TR19 frequency for your kitchen, so you never need to worry about compliance documentation again. Multi-site groups receive a dedicated account manager and centrally managed scheduling.

Call us on 020 3308 2936, email office@fanrescue.co.uk, or use the contact form on this site. We'll respond quickly and provide a clear quote.

Fan Rescue Ltd
Ability House, Unit 129, 121 Brooker Rd, Waltham Abbey EN9 1JH
Tel: 020 3308 2936 | BESA: HV020676 | F-Gas: FGAS2001890