What share of UK other catering premises have a 5-star food hygiene rating?

88.9% of UK other catering premises hold the top 5-star Food Standards Agency hygiene rating — 48,946 of 55,041 rated premises in England, Wales and Northern Ireland — with an average rating of 4.85 out of 5. That is above the all-business-type UK average of 78.2%. Data as of 2026-06-12.

How many UK other catering premises have a low (0 or 1 star) hygiene rating?

0.5% of rated UK other catering premises (289 premises) score 0 or 1 star, the FSA's lowest bands. A low share here means most lower-rated premises sit at 3–4 stars, not at the bottom.

What do UK other catering premises score worst on at inspection?

Across the FSA's three inspection components — Hygiene (food handling), Structural (cleanliness and condition) and Confidence in Management — UK other catering premises score worst, relative to each band, on confidence in management. Lower component scores are better; this reflects where inspectors most often note room for improvement, not unsafe food.

UK Other catering premises Food Hygiene Ratings 2026

Quick answer

88.9% of UK other catering premises hold the top 5-star food hygiene rating.

Across 55,041 rated other catering premises, 48,946 (88.9%) carry the maximum 5-star Food Standards Agency rating and the average rating is 4.85 out of 5. That is above the all-business-type UK average of 78.2% (+10.7 percentage points). 0.5% (289) score 0 or 1 star.

Rating distribution

Every one of the 55,041 rated other catering premises, by their 0–5 Food Hygiene Rating.

5 — Very good

48,946 (88.9%)

4 — Good

4,539 (8.2%)

3 — Generally satisfactory

1,032 (1.9%)

2 — Improvement necessary

235 (0.4%)

1 — Major improvement necessary

264 (0.5%)

0 — Urgent improvement necessary

25 (0%)

Where other catering premises score worst

The FSA scores three things at every inspection. Each bar is the mean sub-score for other catering premises — lower is better (0 = no issues found). Computed over 54,819 rated premises that carried all three sub-scores.

Hygiene (food handling, storage, cooking)1.9 / 25

Structural (cleanliness, layout, condition)2.1 / 25

Confidence in management (record-keeping, controls)3 / 30

For other catering premises, the component dragging ratings down most — relative to its own scoring band — is confidence in management. A higher sub-score there means more inspections flagged that area for improvement. It does not mean the food is unsafe: only 0.5% of rated other catering premises sit at 0–1 star.

Compare

UK Food Hygiene by Business Type 2026 — all 14 categories ranked, restaurants vs takeaways and more.
The State of UK Restaurant Hygiene 2026 — national pass rate, best and worst local authorities.
UK Food Hygiene Ratings Directory — search the full dataset by local authority and postcode.
GeraCompliance — food safety and regulatory checks for businesses.

Methodology

Figures are computed directly from the Food Standards Agency Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) public register, restricted to premises the FSA classifies as "Other catering premises" in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that carry a published 0–5 rating (55,041 premises). Percentages are over rated premises only. Scotland's separate FHIS pass/fail scheme is excluded so the five-star metric stays comparable. The average rating is the count-weighted mean of the 0–5 ratings. The three component sub-scores are the FSA's own Hygiene (0–25), Structural (0–25) and Confidence-in-Management (0–30) bands, where a lower score is better; the means shown are count-weighted over premises carrying all three. No figures are estimated or modelled. Food hygiene data © Crown copyright, Food Standards Agency, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data as of 2026-06-12.