New vs backlog: how to read a Monday list

A Monday list has two sections. NEW THIS WEEK means we first spotted the record on the register in this week’s check. EARLIER FIND means it was already there when we looked before, so it is backlog, not new. Both come from the FSA register; “first spotted” is our date, not a registration or opening date.

Sources: Food Standards Agency, Food Hygiene Rating Scheme open data: ratings.food.gov.uk/open-data

The Monday email has two sections. They look similar. They are not the same thing, and mixing them up is how people end up telling a restaurant owner they've “just opened” when they opened in 2024.

NEW THIS WEEK

These are premises whose record first showed up in our weekly check. The key word is our. We note the date we first spot a record. The FSA doesn't publish a registration date, so we can't give you one either. “First spotted” is not “registered” and not “opened”.

EARLIER FIND

These are premises still awaiting a first inspection, but which were already on the register when we first looked, or turned up in earlier weeks. Often old backlog. Still potentially useful. Just not new.

Where we are today

We began watching on 18 Oct 2026. Every real row from that first snapshot is therefore an earlier find. Nothing can be “new this week” until we've run a second check. Any “new” rows you see on our site's sample pages are labelled example data. We don't have a weekly number yet and we won't pretend otherwise.

For scale, on our baseline Leeds had 788 earlier finds, Manchester 899 and Bristol 333 (extracts dated 15 to 16 Oct 2026).

What each row shows

Business name, only for limited companies and trade-style names. Otherwise “Name withheld”.
Type, from the FSA's category.
Postcode district, like LS10. Never a full postcode or street.
First spotted, our date.
Link to the official FSA page.

A sensible way to work it

Start with NEW THIS WEEK. Those are the freshest signals.
Then dip into EARLIER FIND for your best-fit types and districts.
Open the FSA link before you call or visit, so you know what the record says.
Don't use the word “new” on a backlog row.

Got an FSA link and want to know if we've seen it? Try the new-or-backlog explainer. See also what awaiting inspection means, or the full sample email.

Quick glossary

Awaiting 1st inspection: no published rating yet.
First spotted: our date, not a registration date.
Example data: made up for illustration, and labelled.
Name withheld: the name looks like a person's, so we don't show it.

If a row doesn't say which section it is in, something has gone wrong. Tell us. Every row in our emails is labelled, on purpose.

Figures: council extracts dated 15 to 16 Oct 2026, our baseline first looked at on 18 Oct 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Not endorsed by the FSA. Illustration: Clipboard Clive, a cartoon, not an FSA mascot.