Food Hygiene: Know the score

2022 report

What are food hygiene ratings, and how does your area perform?

For press and media enquires, please contact Dan Raymond, PR Manager at High Speed Training, at daniel.raymond@highspeedtraining.co.uk

We are High Speed Training, and over the last 13 years, we have certified hundreds of thousands of people in food hygiene. We’re committed to not only improving standards, but ensuring that food hygiene ratings are accessible and visible to consumers.

To help businesses and customers across the UK make informed decisions, we have investigated food hygiene and safety standards for premises all across the UK.

To create average ratings for major towns and cities, we analysed Food Standards Agency (FSA) data for over 230,000 food businesses across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

We conducted a similar report in 2019, and we wanted to see how things have changed over the last few years. We wanted to share these findings with you, and help the nation understand more about what the scores mean and, ultimately, why food hygiene ratings matter.

These findings will hopefully give you an understanding of how and why food hygiene ratings are used and why your local food businesses gain the ratings they do.

If you are a customer, this will help you make more informed decisions about where to eat, and if you are a business owner, will help you too see how to gain a good score in your establishment.

The Results

By using the interactive map and table below, you can see how your region, town or city ranks against the rest of the country

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South West
East Counties
London
Wales
South East
North West
North East
West Midlands
East Midlands
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Yorkshire & Humber

Overall Results

You can filter these results by Region or by Town/City:

Rank Region Avg Rating No. of Premises
1Northern Ireland4.696,737
2South West4.6520,764
3East Midlands4.6115,849
4South East4.628,677
5North East4.569,771
6East Counties4.5418,513
7Yorkshire and Humberside4.5120,639
8Wales4.4313,663
9North West4.4127,359
10West Midlands4.3717,328
11London4.3134,610
RankTownRegionAvg RatingNo. of Premises
1SouthportNorth West4.91423
2IpswichEast Counties4.88444
3DarlingtonNorth East4.83339
3HastingsSouth East4.83431
4GloucesterSouth West4.82489
5CarlisleNorth West4.81304
6OxfordSouth East4.79664
6StevenageEast Counties4.79220
6Stockton-on-TeesNorth East4.79285
7BangorWales4.78125
7ChelmsfordEast Counties4.78360
7LincolnEast Midlands4.78503
8HartlepoolNorth East4.77377
9BasingstokeSouth East4.75242
9NottinghamEast Midlands4.751,135
10BournemouthSouth West4.74958
10Newcastle-under-LymeWest Midlands4.74207
10WinchesterSouth East4.74150
11Milton KeynesSouth East4.73497
11WellsSouth West4.7355
12ChichesterSouth East4.72154
12CrawleySouth East4.72286
12ExeterSouth West4.72511
12HarrogateYorkshire and Humberside4.72309
13BracknellSouth East4.71162
14GrimsbyYorkshire and Humberside4.7271
15ColchesterEast Counties4.69415
15SouthamptonSouth East4.69774
16CanterburySouth East4.67300
17ChesterfieldEast Midlands4.66388
17GillinghamSouth East4.66246
18PooleSouth West4.65478
18ShrewsburyWest Midlands4.65371
18WorcesterWest Midlands4.65295
18WorthingSouth East4.65431
19BelfastNorthern Ireland4.641,522
19Kingston upon HullYorkshire and Humberside4.64925
20BarnsleyYorkshire and Humberside4.63379
21CheltenhamSouth West4.62404
21EastbourneSouth East4.62431
21Hemel HempsteadEast Counties4.62255
22RiponYorkshire and Humberside4.6159
22RotherhamYorkshire and Humberside4.61329
22WakefieldYorkshire and Humberside4.61457
23DerbyEast Midlands4.6771
23ElyEast Counties4.688
23NuneatonWest Midlands4.6244
23SwindonSouth West4.6473
24BathSouth West4.59420
24Brighton and HoveSouth East4.591,287
24HarlowEast Counties4.59232
24MaidstoneSouth East4.59273
24Newcastle upon TyneNorth East4.591,210
25Burton upon TrentWest Midlands4.58365
26WarringtonNorth West4.57536
27CoventryWest Midlands4.56994
28BuryNorth West4.55292
28PeterboroughEast Counties4.55515
28YorkYorkshire and Humberside4.55876
29PrestonNorth West4.54490
30BasildonEast Counties4.53249
30ChesterNorth West4.53451
30DurhamNorth East4.53298
30SolihullWest Midlands4.53342
31TruroSouth West4.52141
32BedfordEast Counties4.51344
32ChathamSouth East4.51128
32WokingSouth East4.51300
33GuildfordSouth East4.5232
33TelfordWest Midlands4.5431
34SalisburySouth West4.49168
34SheffieldYorkshire and Humberside4.491,945
34WolverhamptonWest Midlands4.49633
35PlymouthSouth West4.48696
36LeedsYorkshire and Humberside4.471,958
37BristolSouth West4.451,976
37BurnleyNorth West4.45361
37ReadingSouth East4.45658
38CambridgeEast Counties4.44647
38MiddlesbroughNorth East4.44526
38SwanseaWales4.44663
38Weston-Super-MareSouth West4.44309
39GatesheadNorth East4.43441
40DoncasterYorkshire and Humberside4.42585
40PortsmouthSouth East4.42858
41NewportWales4.41475
42LichfieldWest Midlands4.4125
42MansfieldEast Midlands4.4245
42StockportNorth West4.4492
42Sutton ColdfieldWest Midlands4.4212
42WatfordEast Counties4.4381
43BlackpoolNorth West4.391,304
44LeicesterEast Midlands4.381,464
45HerefordWest Midlands4.35215
45ScunthorpeYorkshire and Humberside4.35252
45West BromwichWest Midlands4.35228
46NorwichEast Counties4.32801
46RedditchWest Midlands4.32155
46Southend-on-SeaEast Counties4.32694
47LondonLondon4.3134,610
47LutonEast Counties4.31476
47South ShieldsNorth East4.31304
48LiverpoolNorth West4.31,974
48RochdaleNorth West4.3381
49LancasterNorth West4.29195
49SloughSouth East4.29358
49SunderlandNorth East4.29621
50Stoke-on-TrentWest Midlands4.28790
51BlackburnNorth West4.27357
51BradfordYorkshire and Humberside4.271,151
51High WycombeSouth East4.27316
52SalfordNorth West4.26518
53St AlbansEast Counties4.25258
54CardiffWales4.241,282
54HuddersfieldYorkshire and Humberside4.24710
54ManchesterNorth West4.242,438
55HalifaxYorkshire and Humberside4.22403
56NorthamptonEast Midlands4.21782
57OldhamNorth West4.2382
58BirkenheadNorth West4.18466
58DudleyWest Midlands4.18270
59WiganNorth West4.15456
60St HelensNorth West4.1326
61WalsallWest Midlands4267
62BirminghamWest Midlands3.983,038
63BoltonNorth West3.97676

North East

Ranked #5 of 11
Region Rating: 4.56
- Establishments: 9,771
RankTown/CityAvg RatingNo. of Premises
1Darlington4.83339
2Stockton-on-Tees4.79285
3Hartlepool4.77377
4Newcastle upon Tyne4.591,210
5Durham4.53298
6Middlesbrough4.44526
7Gateshead4.43441
8South Shields4.31304
9Sunderland4.29621

Yorkshire & Humber

Ranked #7 of 11
Region Rating: 4.51
- Establishments: 20,639
RankTown/CityAvg RatingNo. of Premises
1Harrogate4.72309
2Grimsby4.7271
3Kingston upon Hull4.64925
4Barnsley4.63379
5Ripon4.6159
6Rotherham4.61329
7Wakefield4.61457
8York4.55876
9Sheffield4.491,945
10Leeds4.471,958
11Doncaster4.42585
12Scunthorpe4.35252
13Bradford4.271,151
14Huddersfield4.24710
15Halifax4.22403

South West

Ranked #2 of 11
Region Rating: 4.65
- Establishments: 20,764
RankTown/CityAvg RatingNo. of Premises
1Gloucester4.82489
2Bournemouth4.74958
3Wells4.7355
4Exeter4.72511
5Poole4.65478
6Cheltenham4.62404
7Swindon4.6473
8Bath4.59420
9Truro4.52141
10Salisbury4.49168
11Plymouth4.48696
12Bristol4.451,976
13Weston-Super-Mare4.44309

Wales

Ranked #8 of 11
Region Rating: 4.43
- Establishments: 13,663
RankLocal AuthorityAvg RatingNo. of Premises
1Gwynedd4.831,067
2Wrexham4.82403
3Anglesey4.78338
3Conwy4.78817
4Flintshire4.67501
5Pembrokeshire4.64797
6Carmarthenshire4.58791
7Powys4.49988
8Denbighshire4.47456
9Newport4.45488
10Swansea4.43879
11Monmouthshire4.41432
12Neath Port Talbot4.39592
13Ceredigion4.37448
14Cardiff4.251,362
15Bridgend4.17557
15Vale of Glamorgan4.17491
16Caerphilly4.11580
17Rhondda Cynon Taf4.04869
18Merthyr Tydfil4.02260
19Torfaen4.01299
20Blaenau Gwent3.99248

East Counties

Ranked #6 of 11
Region Rating: 4.54
- Establishments: 18,513
RankTown/CityAvg RatingNo. of Premises
1Ipswich4.88444
2Stevenage4.79220
3Chelmsford4.78360
4Colchester4.69415
5Hemel Hempstead4.62255
6Ely4.688
7Harlow4.59232
8Peterborough4.55515
9Basildon4.53249
10Bedford4.51344
11Cambridge4.44647
12Watford4.4381
13Norwich4.32801
14Southend-on-Sea4.32694
15Luton4.31476
16St Albans4.25258

East Midlands

Ranked #3 of 11
Region Rating: 4.61
- Establishments: 15,849
RankTown/CityAvg RatingNo. of Premises
1Lincoln4.78503
2Nottingham4.751,135
3Chesterfield4.66388
4Derby4.6771
5Mansfield4.4245
6Leicester4.381,464
7Northampton4.21782

London

Ranked #11 of 11
Region Rating: 4.31
- Establishments: 34,610
RankLocal AuthorityAvg RatingNo. of Premises
1Kensington and Chelsea4.81,053
2City of London Corporation4.711,357
3Greenwich4.66827
4Merton4.56651
5Haringey4.55882
6Sutton4.52578
7Hammersmith and Fulham4.481,001
8Richmond-Upon-Thames4.47676
8Southwark4.471,571
8Tower Hamlets4.471,576
9Brent4.46962
10Wandsworth4.451,173
11Kingston-Upon-Thames4.42599
12Hillingdon4.41995
13Havering4.4781
14Westminster4.393,446
15Bromley4.38875
16Redbridge4.34679
17Bexley4.29787
18Harrow4.28586
18Hounslow4.28787
19Croydon4.211,124
20Barnet4.15905
21Lambeth4.121,272
22Lewisham4.11,036
22Hackney4.11,305
22Camden4.12,242
23Barking and Dagenham4.03387
24Islington41,217
24Enfield4741
25Newham3.97925
26Ealing3.851,083
27Waltham Forest3.79864

North West

Ranked #9 of 11
Region Rating: 4.41
- Establishments: 27,359
RankTown/CityAvg RatingNo. of Premises
1Southport4.91423
2Carlisle4.81304
3Warrington4.57536
4Bury4.55292
5Preston4.54490
6Chester4.53451
7Burnley4.45361
8Stockport4.4492
9Blackpool4.391,304
10Liverpool4.31,974
11Rochdale4.3381
12Lancaster4.29195
13Blackburn4.27357
14Salford4.26518
15Manchester4.242,438
16Oldham4.2382
17Birkenhead4.18466
18Wigan4.15456
19St Helens4.1326
20Bolton3.97676

Northern Ireland

Ranked #1 of 11
Region Rating: 4.69
- Establishments: 6,737
RankLocal AuthorityAvg RatingNo. of Premises
1Mid and East Antrim4.81447
2Lisburn and Castlereagh City4.76352
3Newry, Mourne and Down4.75730
4Mid Ulster4.74521
5Causeway Coast and Glens4.72730
5Fermanagh and Omagh4.72443
6Antrim and Newtownabbey4.7355
7Derry City and Strabane4.67513
8Belfast City4.641,530
9Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon4.63609
10Ards and North Down4.57507

Scotland

Scotland uses a different rating system to the rest of the UK which has two main ratings - 'Pass' or 'Improvement Required'. We have provided the percentage pass rates by local authority below.
RankLocal AuthorityPass RateNo. of Premises
1South Ayrshire99.61%518
2East Ayrshire99.03%413
3Orkney Islands98.25%171
4East Lothian97.71%349
5East Renfrewshire97.65%170
6Perth and Kinross97.51%523
7West Lothian97.34%338
8Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles)97.07%239
9Angus96.80%437
10Renfrewshire96.76%649
11Fife95.79%1,450
12Dumfries and Galloway95.18%789
13Falkirk95.06%486
14North Ayrshire94.01%584
15West Dunbartonshire93.81%291
16Stirling93.32%554
17Argyll and Bute92.51%601
18Aberdeenshire91.43%420
19North Lanarkshire90.77%964
20East Dunbartonshire90.00%230
21Clackmannanshire89.30%187
22Inverclyde89.18%268
23Moray89.01%355
24Scottish Borders87.97%615
25Midlothian87.95%224
26Glasgow City86.74%2,504
27Edinburgh (City of)85.68%2,695
28South Lanarkshire85.06%1,151
29Dundee City84.63%631
30Aberdeen City82.09%910
31Shetland Islands81.19%101
32Highland79.26%786

South East

Ranked #4 of 11
Region Rating: 4.6
- Establishments: 28,677
RankTown/CityAvg RatingNo. of Premises
1Hastings4.83431
2Oxford4.79664
3Basingstoke4.75242
4Winchester4.74150
5Milton Keynes4.73497
6Chichester4.72154
7Crawley4.72286
8Bracknell4.71162
9Southampton4.69774
10Canterbury4.67300
11Gillingham4.66246
12Worthing4.65431
13Eastbourne4.62431
14Brighton and Hove4.591,287
15Maidstone4.59273
16Chatham4.51128
17Woking4.51300
18Guildford4.5232
19Reading4.45658
20Portsmouth4.42858
21Slough4.29358
22High Wycombe4.27316

West Midlands

Ranked #10 of 11
Region Rating: 4.37
- Establishments: 17,328
RankTown/CityAvg RatingNo. of Premises
1Newcastle-under-Lyme4.74207
2Shrewsbury4.65371
3Worcester4.65295
4Nuneaton4.6244
5Burton upon Trent4.58365
6Coventry4.56994
7Solihull4.53342
8Telford4.5431
9Wolverhampton4.49633
10Lichfield4.4125
11Sutton Coldfield4.4212
12Hereford4.35215
13West Bromwich4.35228
14Redditch4.32155
15Stoke-on-Trent4.28790
16Dudley4.18270
17Walsall4267
18Birmingham3.983,038

What is the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme?

The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) is a partnership with local authorities in England, Wales & Northern Ireland. The scheme aims to provide customers with information as to how well a business is upholding food hygiene and safety standards.

An Environmental Health Officer (EHO) from the town or city’s local authority visits a business at a frequency between every six months and two years, depending on the level of ‘risk’ the business presents. An establishment that is constantly handling fresh and raw food is considered at higher risk than a shop which mostly sells pre-packaged food.

The EHO conducts an inspection of an establishment to make sure that food safety regulations are being adhered to. They then rate the business based on their findings. The criteria and rating scale are summarised below.

What makes up a rating?

Hygienic food handling

This covers the preparation and cooking of food and how it is subsequently reheated, cooled and stored.

Physical condition of the premises and facilities

This concerns whether the location has an appropriate layout, adequate lighting, a high standard of cleanliness, suitable ventilation & pest control.

Food safety management

This evaluates if the business is taking suitable precautions to keep food safe. This can include Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems, staff training records and logs of relevant checks.

These 3 elements make up the overall food hygiene rating which is scored out of 5 as follows:

0 = Urgent Improvement Needed

1 = Major Improvement Needed

2 = Some Improvement Needed

3 = Satisfactory

4 = Good

5 = Very Good

These ratings are then made available on the Food Standards Agency (FSA) website and are usually visible from outside of the premises, often presented in a window near the entrance. This is an example of a Food Hygiene Rating sticker, which you will regularly see in food businesses.

In Wales and Northern Ireland, it is compulsory for businesses to display their food hygiene rating. However, in England it is currently just considered best practice.

A food hygiene rating sticker showing a 5 star rating for an establishment.

Scotland's Food Hygiene Information Scheme

A similar scheme operates in Scotland, called the Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS). After an EHO has reviewed the safety systems in place, observed food hygiene in practice and spoken with the staff, the businesses are given either:

Scotland Scheme Pass Image

‘Pass’ - meaning they meet the legal standard of food hygiene.

or

Scotland Scheme Improve Image

‘Improvement Required’ - meaning the legal standard of food hygiene was not evident during the inspection. The business will need to improve certain areas to then qualify for a pass.

As in England, it is not required by law for a business to display the rating they receive. However, the Food Hygiene Information Scheme is still freely available for customers to view online.

Our Key Findings

Top 3 overall towns and cities

1
Southport
4.91
2
Ipswich
4.88
3
Darlington
4.83

Top 3 overall regions

1
Northern Ireland
4.69
2
South West
4.65
3
East Midlands
4.61

Top 3 large cities (over 1000 establishments)

1
Nottingham
4.75
2
Belfast
4.64
3
Brighton
4.59

440 food establishments in England, Wales and Northern Ireland scored a zero for their food hygiene rating

More than one in 5 takeaways had a food hygiene rating of 3 or below

The average Pass rate in Scotland has risen to 91.8% from 89.5%

Average rating across England, Northern Ireland and Wales rose to 4.51 from 4.39 in 2019

68% of food establishments in the UK scored a 5 on their FH rating, with 87% scoring 4 and above

Findings by region

We have compiled a list of key facts for each region of England, along with Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Select a region from the options to get specific findings for where you live.

6. East Counties

  • Ipswich has the highest rating in the East Counties region, with an average rating of 4.88.
  • Colchester has fallen from 1st in the region to 4th, with an average rating of 4.69.
  • Luton has seen the largest improvement in the region, but still ranks second bottom, improving from an average rating of 3.78 to 4.31.
  • St Albans is the lowest ranked in the region, with an average score of 4.25.
  • St Albans (-0.01) and Basildon (-0.07) are the only two places in the region whose ratings have gone down from 2019.
  • Almost 1 in 5 (19%) takeaways in the region are rated 3 or below.
  • 90% of restaurants are rated 4 or 5, and 96% of hotels, B&Bs and guest houses are rated 4 or 5.
  • 11% of establishments are rated 3 or lower.
  • Overall region change: 2022 - 4.54 - 2019 - 4.44

For Businesses

Customers care

Businesses should take their food hygiene rating seriously. As more and more customers recognise the sticker, it can have a significant impact on your reputation and profit. Customers may decide to go elsewhere and avoid recommending you to others if you don’t uphold a good rating.

In a recent study, half of respondents had checked the food hygiene rating of a business in the past 12 months either at the premises or online. 80% would not eat at a restaurant or takeaway with a rating of 2, and this goes up to 94 and 95% for sites with a score of 1 or 0.

As displaying the rating is not compulsory in England, 49% of businesses choose not to do so. However, 61% of people reported they’d be less likely to eat at a business that did not have the food hygiene rating sticker at the entrance. This is because it creates worry that the establishment had a low food hygiene rating and was trying to hide it or it had poor hygiene standards.

We spoke to Eilidh Paton, owner of Alba Food Safety Consultancy and a Chartered Environmental Health Officer in Glasgow, about how crucial the scheme is.

Food Hygiene inspections and ratings are extremely important. From a legal perspective, they ensure businesses are compliant, but mostly, they are designed to help businesses provide safer food.

It also gives consumers the assurance that businesses are safe to eat in as they are regularly inspected by competent officers.

Profile of Eilidh Paton

Eilidh Paton
Owner of Alba Food Safety Consultancy

The FSA actively encourages marketing a good rating to attract customers, and it’s clear why. Attaining and advertising a good food hygiene rating can have a significantly positive impact on the number of customers who choose to use your services, and therefore the profit you make.

One Poor Inspection Can Hurt

One potential limitation of the scheme is the fact that an inspection is essentially a random “snapshot” of the business, meaning the rating may not be wholly reflective of everyday quality. One recent news-worthy rating came from a restaurant in Hove which had previously been awarded the Tripadvisor Travellers Choice Award in 2021, but then received a one star food hygiene rating later in the year. It was later revealed the low rating was as a result of issues with the establishment’s fridges, which were giving a false reading at the time of the inspection. The owner immediately fixed this simple issue and is hoping to return to it’s usual high standard and reputation upon the next visit from the EHO.

It can take up to six months for premises to be re-visited following an unsatisfactory rating, and a further 28 days for the rating change itself to be reflected publicly. Therefore, there may be a discrepancy between a rating online and one displayed on a building. As a result, businesses could be losing customers despite having improved their standards since the last inspection.

If you want to make sure you are fully prepared for an EHO inspection download our free inspection checklist.

It’s not just about “Food Hygiene”

It’s easy to think that food hygiene is purely associated with how hygienically food is handled and prepared. However, the FHRS consists of more than this and each area is equally important to your overall food hygiene rating.

Issues with your management of food safety can significantly affect your overall rating. This is why you must demonstrate appropriate HACCP Systems, staff training records, and the knowledge and capability of the manager.

If you are looking for the knowledge and skills needed to manage your food business correctly then check out our online Level 3 Food Hygiene Course. It covers everything you need to know to ensure a food business is operating hygienically including contamination control, waste management and HACCP.

You Can’t Hide Your Food Hygiene Rating

Although displaying your Food Hygiene rating on your premises is optional, customers can still find it elsewhere. The Food Hygiene Ratings Information website has had more monthly visitors than ever since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, showing that there is an increasing public interest in hygiene ratings.

Popular food delivery services are also following suit. Just Eat removed all zero rated sites from its platform in 2019 and any new restaurants wishing to join must have an FHRS rating of 3, whereas Deliveroo and Uber Eats are allowing businesses with 2 star food hygiene ratings to be listed on their platforms.

Furthermore, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic through which the hospitality sector particularly struggled, Just Eat worked alongside NSF to offer all 1 and 2 rated premises free audit and re-inspection support. The steps Just Eat have taken emphasises again that food hygiene ratings are an important part of a food business’s success, and are constantly being checked, not just by consumers, but also by other businesses.

Faking Your Food Hygiene Rating Isn’t Worth It

Displaying a false food hygiene rating is, under the Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, illegal and the number of penalties being handed out is steadily increasing as authorities crack down on offenders.

Recently, it’s been exposed that businesses have been buying fake food hygiene rating stickers from sites such as ebay, to display a false rating higher than the one they actually received. One eBay member sold 58 fake stickers from one advert alone, potentially making as much as £500. The listings have now been removed from the site and any found offenders will be charged with severe fines. It has been suggested that Food Hygiene rating stickers should carry a hologram or unique number to make them harder to fake.

In 2020, a Solihull takeaway was ordered to pay costs totalling £2,100 by Birmingham Magistrates Court for advertising a false food hygiene rating, proving that penalties for false food hygiene advertising are too high to risk.

Whereas the infrequency of inspections previously made false advertising difficult to police, it’s now easier and more common for customers to check the rating on the door against those held online by the FSA. Combine the fine with the inevitable bad press and reputational damage, faking a rating simply isn’t worth the risk to your business.

If you feel as though a recent inspection hasn't reflected your usual standards, use our guide to find out how to appeal your food hygiene rating.

If you’re looking for information on how to improve your hygiene rating, Elidh believes speaking to an EHO is a good place to start.

Our primary role is to provide advice rather than enforcement. EHOs would much rather a business engage with them and adopt their recommendations than view their interactions as a negative experience. So speak to your EHO, ask them questions, and ask for their advice.

Profile of Eilidh Paton

Eilidh Paton
Owner of Alba Food Safety Consultancy

For Customers

It’s Down To You To Check

Although food businesses have a legal duty to run their business hygienically, customers should always check a business’s hygiene rating if they want to minimise the risk of eating at an unsafe establishment.

When it comes to food hygiene ratings, it seems ignorance is not bliss. Over the past few years, there’s been an increasing demand for England to follow Northern Ireland and Wales in making it mandatory for businesses to display their ratings. In a recent survey, out of those that had heard of the FHRS, 95% thought that businesses should be required by law to display the food hygiene rating at their premises.

Customers should be more aware of Food Hygiene ratings, so they can spend their money in businesses that invest in their safety. They should be easier to access but I believe this could only be achieved by making it mandatory for businesses to display their ratings.

Profile of Eilidh Paton

Eilidh Paton
Owner of Alba Food Safety Consultancy

Whilst it’s still optional, however, it’s even more important to check individual food hygiene ratings using the Food Standards Agency’s information or by downloading the Scores on the Doors app on your mobile. Just put in the name of the place you want to check or enter your postcode to check the businesses in your local area.

Takeaways Need To Improve

According to our data, more than 1 in every 5 takeaways in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland have a hygiene rating of 3 or lower and only 55% scored a 5. In contrast, 81% of hotels received a 5 star rating, and 95% scored 4 and above.

Furthermore, the number of takeaways that require "major" or "urgent" improvement (a rating of one or lower), stands out as a problem area. Almost 3% of takeaways and sandwich shops across England, Northern Ireland, and Wales fall into this bracket.

These findings are not a surprise to Eilidh.

These results certainly fit with my experience. Takeaways, on average, tend to have a lower rating for a large number of reasons, but mainly it is down to much a larger number of orders per day than say, a B&B would. It’s fast food, so the customer expects to get it quickly, leaving less time for staff to focus on cleaning and paperwork.

Profile of Eilidh Paton

Eilidh Paton
Owner of Alba Food Safety Consultancy

Whilst it’s still optional, however, it’s even more important to check individual food hygiene ratings using the Food Standards Agency’s information or by downloading the Scores on the Doors app on your mobile. Just put in the name of the place you want to check or enter your postcode to check the businesses in your local area.

A Good Food Hygiene Rating Doesn’t Guarantee Good Food

Although the FHRS gives a good indication of cleanliness and safety, it does not cover factors such as the quality of food and skill of the chef making it. Surprisingly, the FSA awarded 83% of chain restaurants a top score of 5 compared to only 55% of Michelin star restaurants.

This is likely because the scheme actually lends itself more towards chain food outlets, as they don’t have a constant supply of fresh food entering the premises and have less flexible menus. Therefore, it’s easier to maintain the same standards of food handling, storage and preparation which can give a high food hygiene rating, even if the taste, presentation and customer service is not as good.

Food Hygiene Standards Are Not The Same Everywhere

Our report reveals the places where you can dine in confidence, and areas where it may be wise to check Food Hygiene ratings before eating out. If you’re in Southport, for example, you can assume an establishment will have a high standard of food hygiene as, on average, the Merseyside town is just shy of the highest possible rating at an average of 4.91. The risk of standards slipping is higher for those in Bolton, however, as their average ratings are the lowest in the UK at 3.97.

Northern Ireland has the highest average food hygiene rating in the UK, at an impressive 4.69, increasing from 4.59 in 2019. Furthermore, no region in Northern Ireland has a lower average rating than 4.5. This could be due to Ireland having to display Food Hygiene rating stickers at all food premises, whereas this is still optional in England. Perhaps if it were a legal requirement in England too, the difference between the two countries' ratings may decrease.

A scientific review published by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has estimated that around 2.4 million cases of foodborne illness occur every year in the UK. Furthermore, eating out accounts for an estimated 37% of all foodborne norovirus cases. The dangers posed by businesses operating unhygienically are clear. It’s always best to double check a rating if you are unsure.

Only ⅓ of the Rating is Based on the Hygienic Handling of Food

There are three individual components that make up a food hygiene rating. Two thirds of the rating consider the building’s physical attributes and food safety management systems in place. We found that 2% of businesses in the UK have a rating of 2 or lower, suggesting that they required improvement. Not all of these concern the physical handling of food, however. For example issues such as peeling paint in the premises can affect the business’s overall ratings.

If your favourite restaurant scores less than a five, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are preparing your food unhygienically. This is why it’s important to do your research; if you look up an establishment on the Food Standards Agency’s website, you can see how well it scored in each of the three areas. This can give you a better idea of the factors behind the rating, so you can be more confident eating somewhere that hasn’t scored a five.

Methodology

Data

Data was downloaded on the 19th January 2022 from the official Food Standards Agency ‘UK food hygiene rating data API’ which details the overall food hygiene ratings, rating components, and inspection results of food establishments across the UK.

The Food Standards Agency data attributes each establishment with one of fourteen business types. Of these business types, four were selected for inclusion. These were:

  • Restaurants, Cafes, Canteens
  • Takeaways, Sandwich Shops
  • Pubs, Bars, Nightclubs
  • Hotels, Bed & Breakfasts/Guest Houses

After filtering, if a business did not have a current rating or an inspection result then the entry was omitted from the analysis.

This resulted in a filtered total of businesses, equalling 234,513 establishments that fell within these categories and which were then used for the overall ranking analysis.

Location

The regions selected for analysis in this report are the same twelve regions as used by the Food Standards Agency, and so businesses were split according to the region associated with their business.

The cities and towns being compared were selected from records held by the Office for National Statistics and the National Archives.

To match the food hygiene ratings provided for businesses by the Food Standards Agency we performed postcode lookups through the use of an online database, allowing us to match the postcodes of businesses with their closest major city or town, and the major city or town with their region. If a business did not have a valid postcode, then the entry was omitted from our analysis.

Following this, we amalgamated the food hygiene ratings of each town and city to provide an aggregate rating of food hygiene ratings for an area.

Procedure

Following the data download, and after cities and towns were matched to rated businesses by postcode, several steps were taken to ensure the data was clean and fit for purpose.

In several instances, to ensure that the data was of interest to certain regions, the local authorities (as defined by the Food Standards Agency) of a region were used to split a region into further areas instead of using a city/town split. However, to provide clarity, in the overall rankings only cities and towns are listed.

As mentioned above, entries in the data downloaded from the Food Standards Agency without a valid postcode were omitted from analysis.

Following the cleaning of the data, several lists were created with cities/towns in each region ranked according to their mean food hygiene ratings and then subsequently ranked according to their overall rank in the UK - leading to the lists you are presented with here.

Open Government Licence (OGL)

Food Standards Agency food hygiene ratings information, data and services are subject to the terms of the Open Government Licence (OGL).

The ratings are subject to change as they are regularly updated to reflect the standards found when a business is inspected by a local authority food safety officer.

Our study contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Acknowledgements

High Speed Training would like to thank the Food Standards Agency and the Office for National Statistics for providing the data needed to accomplish this study.

We’d also like to thank Cllr Paulette Lappin, Cabinet Member for Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services at Sefton Council.

Finally we would like to extend special thanks to Eilidh Paton at Alba Consultancy for supporting us with this study.

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