What share of UK distributors & transporters have a 5-star food hygiene rating?

84.8% of UK distributors & transporters hold the top 5-star Food Standards Agency hygiene rating — 2,150 of 2,536 rated premises in England, Wales and Northern Ireland — with an average rating of 4.77 out of 5. That is above the all-business-type UK average of 78.2%. Data as of 2026-06-12.

How many UK distributors & transporters have a low (0 or 1 star) hygiene rating?

1.1% of rated UK distributors & transporters (28 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 distributors & transporters score worst on at inspection?

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

UK Distributors & transporters Food Hygiene Ratings 2026

Quick answer

84.8% of UK distributors & transporters hold the top 5-star food hygiene rating.

Across 2,536 rated distributors & transporters, 2,150 (84.8%) carry the maximum 5-star Food Standards Agency rating and the average rating is 4.77 out of 5. That is above the all-business-type UK average of 78.2% (+6.6 percentage points). 1.1% (28) score 0 or 1 star.

Rating distribution

Every one of the 2,536 rated distributors & transporters, by their 0–5 Food Hygiene Rating.

5 — Very good

2,150 (84.8%)

4 — Good

255 (10.1%)

3 — Generally satisfactory

86 (3.4%)

2 — Improvement necessary

17 (0.7%)

1 — Major improvement necessary

24 (0.9%)

0 — Urgent improvement necessary

4 (0.2%)

Where distributors & transporters score worst

The FSA scores three things at every inspection. Each bar is the mean sub-score for distributors & transporters — lower is better (0 = no issues found). Computed over 2,531 rated premises that carried all three sub-scores.

Hygiene (food handling, storage, cooking)1.7 / 25

Structural (cleanliness, layout, condition)2.8 / 25

Confidence in management (record-keeping, controls)3.1 / 30

For distributors & transporters, the component dragging ratings down most — relative to its own scoring band — is cleanliness & structure. A higher sub-score there means more inspections flagged that area for improvement. It does not mean the food is unsafe: only 1.1% of rated distributors & transporters 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 "Distributors/Transporters" in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that carry a published 0–5 rating (2,536 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.