UK food hygiene ratings by business type
Across the 483,927 food businesses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland with a published Food Standards Agency (FSA) hygiene rating, 78.2% hold the top 5 (Very Good) rating. It varies sharply by type: schools, colleges & universities are cleanest at 92% five-star, while takeaways & sandwich shops are lowest at 61%. Source: FSA FHRS open data (OGL v3.0), as of June 2026.
Data as of June 2026 · generated . Read the full 2026 league-table report →
Every FSA business type, ranked by 5-star share
Ranked cleanest first. The all-types average is 78.2% five-star. Open a category for its full 0–5 rating breakdown and how it compares.
| Business type | Rated premises | 5-star | 2★ or below | Mean rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schools, colleges & universities | 31,216 | 92% | 0.1% | 4.9 |
| Farmers & growers | 1,179 | 90.5% | 0.1% | 4.9 |
| Other catering premises | 55,041 | 88.9% | 0.5% | 4.8 |
| Care homes & caring premises | 35,793 | 88.2% | 0.3% | 4.8 |
| Mobile caterers | 23,235 | 88.2% | 0.6% | 4.8 |
| Supermarkets & hypermarkets | 14,177 | 87.5% | 1.1% | 4.8 |
| Importers & exporters | 387 | 85.3% | 1.8% | 4.7 |
| Hotels, B&Bs & guest houses | 10,959 | 85.2% | 0.6% | 4.8 |
| Distributors & transporters | 2,536 | 84.8% | 1.1% | 4.8 |
| Manufacturers & packers | 7,621 | 84.3% | 1% | 4.8 |
| Pubs, bars & nightclubs | 44,025 | 76.8% | 1% | 4.7 |
| Restaurants, cafes & canteens | 117,909 | 75.3% | 1.6% | 4.6 |
| Food shops & convenience retailers | 87,636 | 71.2% | 3% | 4.5 |
| Takeaways & sandwich shops | 52,213 | 61% | 2.7% | 4.3 |
Common questions
- Which type of UK food business has the best food hygiene ratings?
- Of the 14 FSA business types, Schools, colleges & universities have the highest share of top 5 (Very Good) ratings at 92% of their 31,216 rated premises, above the 78.2% all-types average. Source: FSA FHRS open data, June 2026.
- Which type of food business has the worst food hygiene ratings?
- Takeaways & sandwich shops have the lowest share of 5-star ratings at 61% of 52,213 rated premises, and 2.7% are rated 2 stars or below. This does not mean any individual business is unsafe — always check the specific premises. Source: FSA FHRS open data, June 2026.
- What does the food hygiene rating cover?
- The FSA Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) rates how well a business complies with food-safety law on a 0–5 scale: 5 is Very Good and 0 means urgent improvement is necessary. It reflects hygienic food handling, the condition of the premises, and how the business manages food safety — assessed at the last inspection. It is not a measure of food quality or taste.
- Are these figures the whole FSA register?
- Yes — the percentages here are computed over the full FSA FHRS register of 483,927 premises that carry a published 0–5 rating (Scotland's separate pass/fail scheme is excluded so the 5-star metric stays comparable). Figures were generated on 2026-06-12.
More UK food-safety data
Free, independent food-safety data built from official FSA open data — explore the rest of the GeraEats fleet.
- Food hygiene ratings by cityFSA 5-star share and average rating for every major UK city, from open data.
- Food hygiene ratings directoryBrowse real FSA Food Hygiene Rating Scheme scores by local authority.
- Cleanest UK restaurantsThe highest-rated 5-star hygiene restaurants ranked across the UK.
- UK food recall & allergen watchRecall and allergen-risk index by food category, from official FSA alerts.
- UK food hygiene reportsNational FSA pass rates plus the cleanest and dirtiest UK cities and regions.
From hygiene rating to your order
Check the FSA food-safety data, then order from local restaurants — the data and the marketplace link together.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Food hygiene ratings are sourced from the Food Standards Agency at ratings.food.gov.uk. Ratings reflect the most recent inspection on record and may have changed since publication.