Grape Software have announced the release of a new food hygiene inspection software for Local Authorities, designed to simplify the inspection process and help reduce the growing backlog of food businesses currently awaiting an inspection.
According to the Food Standards Agency (June 2025), an estimated 95,000 food businesses are overdue for hygiene inspections, including 841 classified as ‘high risk’.
Environmental health teams across the country are under increasing pressure, with staff shortages, rising workloads, tighter budgets and growing public health demands continuing to stretch resources and capacity.
Developed by North East entrepreneur James Miller, Grape INSPECT has been designed for Environmental Health Officers across the UK. The software replaces outdated paper-based practices and digitises the entire inspection process, allowing decisions on food hygiene ratings to be made and published within days rather than weeks.
Users of the software can record and upload notes and photographs during inspections, directly on-site. The system then generates the inspection report with food hygiene rating, with all information being stored securely and easily accessible.
With a background in both technology and hospitality, the seed for the app was planted in James’ mind in 2014 while consulting at a leading university, where he was auditing the university’s systems for recording and managing information. While there, he discovered how complex and fragmented existing systems and processes were, and realised how new technology could streamline these processes. Since then, James has collaborated with Environmental Health Officers to develop Grape INSPECT, ensuring the technology is not only efficient but also simple and easy for users to navigate.
Grape Software is also developing companion software for food businesses around food hygiene management, which will eventually integrate with the Grape INSPECT software, allowing both food businesses and inspectors to manage the inspection process digitally in one connected platform.
Grape Software has won over £70,000 worth of funding support from the North East BIC in Sunderland, Northstar Ventures, the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Enterprise Hub, and Innovate UK.
Grape INSPECT is now available to local authorities with an exclusive 25% discount for new sign-ups and an opportunity to contribute to its future development. Find out more and book a demo today at: grapesoftware.co.uk.
James Miller, Founder of Grape INSPECT said:
“We’ve worked closely with a range of stakeholders to develop Grape INSPECT, because the way food inspections are done hasn’t changed in over 25 years. Both food businesses and inspectors are still relying on outdated, manual paperwork. Our software removes that burden as inspections are completed in real time, with no need for handwritten notes or typing up later. It’s a faster, simpler way to manage the process.”
Paul Turner, Environmental Health Officer added:
“The food inspection process is tired, cumbersome and out of date. Some local authorities have their own little ways and are trying to modernise but there’s over 300 local authorities across the UK, but we’re all doing little bits rather than all doing the same. This will modernise what we’re all trying to do, speed it up and allow it to be far more efficient so we get to more places and get the reports out more quickly – and if we’re all using the same app there’s a consistency there and that’s what is so exciting about what James is doing”
Dale Woods, Programme Manager – Regional Talent Engines, at the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Enterprise Hub added:
“James is an alumnus of the Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub. Winning a place on the Regional Talent Engines accelerator programme, his company, Grape Software, impressed with its innovative approach in helping to raise food hygiene reporting and efficiency.”
